WASHINGTON — Astronomers are calling on nations to ban advertising in space that can be seen from the ground, calling it the latest threat to the dark and quiet sky.
At a briefing during the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society earlier this month, the organization rolled out a statement calling for bans on “obtrusive space advertising” because of the interference it could cause for groundbased astronomy.
Obtrusive space advertising is defined in U.S. federal law as “advertising in outer space that is capable of being recognized by a human being on the surface of the Earth without the aid of a telescope or other technological device.” Such advertising is banned in federal law through prohibitions on granting launch licenses for missions carrying payloads to carry out space advertising.
An older story, I know, but today was the first I heard of space-based advertising, and it made my blood boil a little.
To be clear, the infuriating part is people trying to put ads in the sky, not the astronomers fighting back, who are in fact awesome.
I don’t think it goes far enough. Satellites should not be allowed to arrange or emit for any aesthetics reason, advertising or not. They should be required to do everything they can to go unseen.
And the near-side of the moon should be preserved with bans on commercial activity and construction projects.
Or maybe just any that can be seen from earth, even with a telescope. If you can dig a tunnel and build an underground complex without the ports and vents being visible, then I guess that can be allowed. But that should be a negotiating chip, not a part of the first proposal.