Difference between revisions of "Planetary Protection Society (Beta)"

Latest revision as of 12:18, 29 January 2021

The International Society for Planetary Protection, also known as the Planetary Protection Society or International Board of Extraterrestrial Affairs, is a non-profit extra-governmental organization led by CEO Karen Pfeiffer. While the PPS has historically not taken issue or interfered with OCESS, OCESS' partnership with TransCaelus Horizons on its mission Psychedelia 2019 led to tension between the organizations.

About

The PPS was founded in 1970 by members from Canada, South Korea, and Australia with the goal of preserving the natural order of non-Earth celestial bodies and preventing human interference. Their current headquarters are in Seoul, South Korea, with branches in Sydney, Houston, and Saskatoon. Their mission statement has loosened slightly over time, no longer staunchly opposing all human interference in space but continuing to oppose human exploitation of extraterrestrial resources and destruction of alien environments. They have historically worked closely with various international governments to ensure that private space organizations do not violate the Outer Space Treaty among other international regulations.

Involvement with OCESS

The PPS took notice of OCESS' partnership with TCH and contacted Officer Kira Jane about their concerns via email.

• Crew and Associates of OCESS and TransCaelus Horizons,

We at the International Board of Extraterrestrial Affairs have been asked by the Canadian government to inform you, should you not already know, that there was a meeting held at 05:30 Eastern Standard Time this morning. Many government officials have expressed concern over the mounting political tensions with regards to the nature of your organization’s mission to the asteroid of 16 Psyche. It is unknown what actions will be taken by any government at this time, but OCESS is advised to remain aware and cautious of their situation.

Ria Durham, IBEA

• Crew and Associates of OCESS,

We at the International Board of Extraterrestrial Affairs hope that your mission is doing well. There has been a meeting held between representatives from your mining corporation, TransCaelus Horizons, the International Society for Planetary Protection, and the Canadian Minister of National Revenue. Concerns proposed by the ISPP, along with the mounting tensions with the Russian government have led to the decision to halt the endeavours of TransCaelus with regards to the financial exploitation of 16 Psyche. Please see attached statement from the ISPP. The legal battle between TransCaelus Horizons’ parent company and the ISPP appears to have ended in a compromise for the time being. Representatives of TransCaelus have been given permission to examine the asteroid’s surface for research purposes only, and samples of up to only 150 grams will be permitted. Astronauts not affiliated with TransVersus Horizons or TransCaelus in any way are permitted samples of up to one kilogram. Furthermore, the total sample weight returned for TransCaelus must not exceed five kilograms, and fifty kilograms for OCESS only. Expect further information from the ISPP shortly. Richard Fischer, IBEA

Attached was a PDF outlining government regulations on the collection of samples.

• 1. Communication between TransCaelus Horizons, co. (Subsidiary of TransVersus

Horizons, co. est. 1974) and the Transplanetary Expedition Vessel Hawking III (Property of OCESS est. 1986) will be intercepted securely through an encryption backdoor Earth-side. The ISPP and Canadian Revenue Society may release the contents of the intercepted messages in the event of a legal intervention. 2. Informational contact between TransCaelus Horizons and its representatives within OCESS must be restricted to once per day, and information regarding the data obtained must not be discussed. 3. Direct, non-monitored contact between TransCaelus Horizons and the Astronauts and Mission Control of OCESS is banned outright. Failure to comply with these restrictions may lead to legal action and/or forfeiture of data and property against OCESS and TransCaelus Horizons.(1)

Officer Jane replied:

• Hello there.

I wholeheartedly agree with this, as the planetary protection officer for OCESS, I will make sure the crew follows these orders. One of the representatives for the TCH is threatening to hire a lawyer so they don't have to abide by these laws. Do we have any way that legal action could be taken whilst we are on 16 psyche? We would hate for our crew not to listen, and have a mutiny on our hands. Sincerely, Kira McGrath OCESS Hab subcommander.

PPS continued:

• This is an official message for the crew of the Hawking III Expedition Vessel.

This is simply an update to the previous message sent on 2019-02-20. After further deliberation with TransVersus Horizons and the Canadian Revenue Society, the use of diamond-tipped equipment of any kind (saws, drills, et cetera) will not be permitted on the asteroid’s surface for any purposes by any party, affiliated with TransVersus or not.

• • We at the International Society for Planetary Protection care about your privacy. All messages sent are encrypted and decrypted on-device, and the utmost care is taken to ensure that the security of your device is protected.**
• This is an official message for the crew of the Hawking III Expedition Vessel.

Due to the commercial nature of TransVersus Horizons and its daughter company, TransCaelus Horizons, the ISPP, with permission from the Canadian and United States governments, are placing limitations on the corporate exploitation of the asteroid 16 Psyche. Individual samples taken by representatives of TransCaelus must not exceed 150 grams to a max gross weight of 5000 grams. Mining equipment of any kind is not to be used on the surface of the asteroid, and data gathered from the asteroid is not to be returned to TransCaelus or TransVersus in any form. Overall communications between the vessel and the company are to be limited and monitored.

• • We at the International Society for Planetary Protection care about your privacy. All messages sent are encrypted and decrypted on-device, and the utmost care is taken to ensure that the security of your device is protected.**
• This is an official message for the crew of the Hawking III Expedition Vessel.

The ISPP extends a cordial thank you to the people at TransVersus Horizons, for providing us a grant towards the construction of our headquarters in Seoul. After much deliberation on the matter, it has been decided to give permission for usage of diamond-tipped drills in extraction of research samples from 16 Psyche, as well as other previously approved experimental mining equipment. Please note that this permission does not extend to other equipment not previously authorized. Please see attached document from the Government of Canada regarding violation of established restrictions.

• • We at the International Society for Planetary Protection care about your privacy. All messages sent are encrypted and decrypted on-device, and the utmost care is taken to ensure that the security of your device is protected.**

Attached was a PDF outlining government legal rights.

• Notice to TransCaelus Horizons co. and Affiliates

1. The restrictions imposed upon the participants of the 20XX mission to the asteroid 16 Psyche are legal obligations, and will be treated as such. 2. The use of equipment, communications and data distribution must be followed in the manner outlined previously. 3. Violation of regulations will be regarded as felony violations, and will be punished to the full extent of the law. The participants and equipment of the Hawking III Expedition Vessel (Property of OCESS est. 1986) will be taken into legal custody and any persons thought to be affiliated with the crime will be taken as witnesses in any legal proceedings. 4. Any unlawful communication between TransCaelus Horizons and OCESS will be punished under the Confidentiality Act (1937) and may result in suspension of funding to OCESS and/or legal action taken against both parties. 5. OCESS will be expected to disclose all previously non disclosed communications to the Canadian Government upon their crew’s return to Canada.(2)

TCH paid the PPS 1.2 billion dollars in exchange for allowing diamond-tipped drills to be used on 16 Psyche.

• Crew and Associates of OCESS and TransCaelus Horizons,

A large payment has been made to the ISPP on behalf of TransVersus Horizons. This payment has been made in exchange for the ISPP relaxing the regulations surrounding data collection on 16 Psyche. Putting aside IBEA’s stance on corporate leverage with regard to interplanetary law, this turn of events has led to a change of restrictions on TransCaelus Horizons. The gross mass limit for samples has been lifted, and the weight limit for individual samples has been raised to five kilograms. Data regarding 16 Psyche may be sent to TransCaelus, but be aware that all data gathered will be treated as scientific data under the Canadian Astronomical Research Transparency Act (1992, 2007, 2018). This act makes all astronomical research available to the public should it be disclosed at all. Transmission of data to TransCaelus entails forfeiture of the data to the use of the public. Richard Fischer, IBEA

Following the removal of restrictions, communication between the PPS and OCESS was halted. OCESS' subsequent violation of international law brought them back to PPS' attention following the mission. Mounting pressure from PPS and the negative press that ensued forced OCESS to significantly limit the scope of their following mission.

Sources

• (1)TCH_Psyche_Regulations.pdf
• (2)Notice to TCH and Affiliates.pdf