Alexey Ilin, PhD candidate of Koguan Law School, has successfully presented his research at the Symposium on the Rule of Law in Outer Space, which was jointly held by the Chinese Society of Space Law, Chinese Society of Astronautics, International Institute of Space Law (IISL), and the Space Law Center of Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) on 25 April in Wuhan. The paper he presented was jointly written with Professor Ilaf Elard from New York University Shanghai and titled “Partition the Moon via Blockchain? Assessing Crypto-Narratives in Regard to International Space Law”. Their research analyzed potential threats posed by the private sector’s application of blockchain technology to the  international legal regime governing the outer space.

The conference brought together nearly 200 delegates from government departments, international organizations, the space industry, and the academia, including representatives of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, as well as distinguished scholars from leading Chinese and foreign universities. The participants conducted extensive and in-depth discussions on the most topical issues of space law and policy. The presentation of Mr. Ilin and Prof. Elard was well-received by the audience and the committee of the conference.