Last week, space daddy Elon Musk revealed plans to create a self-sustaining city on Mars, and have the whole thing up and running before earth destroys itself. That’s some sinister billionaire shit, but quite honestly, I’m here for it if it means getting the fuck off this planet.
The proposed Martian colony will use a network of Starlink satellites, made by Musk’s SpaceX, for communication. Starlink is currently in beta here, with close to 900 satellites orbiting the earth, and the app’s terms of service provide an intriguing insight into the company’s vision.
It appears that Musk and SpaceX do not plan to recognise our silly and outdated earth laws on Mars, and will instead create a “self-governing” settlement. The relevant section on ‘governing law’ says:
“For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other colonisation spacecraft, the parties recognise Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities.”
It continues:
“Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”
Elon Musk has one said whether the ‘dispute resolution process’ involve gladiatorial combat in a big Martian arena, where humans battle giant stick insect creatures until one emerges victorious, like in that one Star Wars movie, but that would actualy be pretty sick.
In its current form, Starlink aims to be a “last-resort internet service provider for rural users who can’t get cable or fiber”, but the plan is to eventually deploy 12,000 satellites for “near global coverage of the populated world by 2021”.
