Dear friend,

Welcome to Final Frontier, a special space-themed edition of Frontier, the monthly newsletter from the Future of Property Rights Program at New America. This month Yuliya Panfil spoke at Slate's "How Will We Govern Ourselves in Space" event, and the team wrote a number of space-related articles for various outlets. Here's what we've been up to:

What We're Doing

How Will We Govern Ourselves in Space?

A renewed space race raises myriad questions about how humanity will govern itself in space. Slate’s Future Tense, in partnership with New America and the JustSpace Alliance, held an event on July 10 to discuss how to ensure that the "final frontier" reflects humane and democratic values. Yuliya Panfil spoke on a panel about the legal landscape of space exploration. Access the panel discussion here.

 FPR Explores Outer Space in Slate's Future Tense

Last week, FPR published two pieces in Slate about property rights in space. Tim Robustelli and New America Army Fellow Dennis Wille explored the possibility of overeager settlers on the Moon, while Yuliya Panfil and Chris Mellon examined what countries and companies can and can't do in space under a 1967 U.N. treaty.

 Property Rights in Space Sounds Great, Until We're Actually There

For all you sci-fi nerds: Chris Mellon and Dennis Wille spoke with writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck about the role of property rights in their critically acclaimed novel series, The Expanse, now a TV series on Amazon Prime. Read the interview transcript here.

Can Satellite Internet Close the Property Rights Gap?

Chris Mellon and Yuliya Panfil wrote an OpEd in Devex, arguing that satellite internet can help close the property rights gap.

What We're Reading

"Who Gets to Own the West?" - The New York Times

Julie Turkewitz examines large-scale land purchases by billionaires in the American West, as well as the resulting controversy over access to adjacent public lands. Yet another example of property rights insecurity here in the United States.

"Their Family Bought Land One Generation After Slavery. The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It." - ProPublica

Lizzie Presser explores African American land loss in the southern United States. Between 1910 and 1997, this minority group lost about 90% of their farmland. A great deal of this property was passed down generation after generation without wills, resulting in heirs being forced off their land by developers and others. We wonder how solving issues linked to heirs' property relates to potential reparations for slavery. 

Thoughts on our work or where we're headed? Feel free to reach out to us at FPR@NewAmerica.org.

Until next month, the FPR Team.

About New America

New America is dedicated to renewing America by continuing the quest to realize our nation's highest ideals. Read the rest of our story, or see what we've been doing recently in our latest Annual Report. 

The Future of Property Rights Program at New America focuses on bringing together technologists and policymakers to help solve land and property rights challenges around the world.

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