“In Space, No One Can Hear You Plead”: Questions of Semiotics Arising from the Legal Impact of Communications Latency and Time Dilation in Deep Space Missions

TY - JOUR

T1 - “In Space, No One Can Hear You Plead”

T2 - Questions of Semiotics Arising from the Legal Impact of Communications Latency and Time Dilation in Deep Space Missions

AU - Simmonds, Alexander

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.

PY - 2026/5/6

Y1 - 2026/5/6

N2 - The Artemis II and IV missions mark the first visit to the moon for human beings for over 50 years. During their voyage, the astronauts will experience time-lags in their communications with Earth owing to the inherent limitations of radio communication: nothing, not even radio waves, can travel faster than the speed of light. Should humanity venture into ‘deep space’, the time lag will increase in proportion to the distance travelled from Earth, moving from a few seconds to many minutes. This brings significant challenges for law and legal processes. If human beings travel as far as Mars, the disconnect could be anywhere up to 24 min at the furthest distance. Cross-examination or the deployment of leading questions becomes ineffective as an investigatory technique between parties on Earth and parties in deep space. Questions arise as to the commencement dates of statutes, whether they commence at the same time on Earth as they do by the frame of reference of a deep space crew. Routine contractual matters such as offer and acceptance also become uncertain between parties on Earth and those in deep space. Should human beings develop the technology to travel close to the speed of light, not only will these problems still be evident, they will also be compounded by the phenomenon of ‘time dilation’.

AB - The Artemis II and IV missions mark the first visit to the moon for human beings for over 50 years. During their voyage, the astronauts will experience time-lags in their communications with Earth owing to the inherent limitations of radio communication: nothing, not even radio waves, can travel faster than the speed of light. Should humanity venture into ‘deep space’, the time lag will increase in proportion to the distance travelled from Earth, moving from a few seconds to many minutes. This brings significant challenges for law and legal processes. If human beings travel as far as Mars, the disconnect could be anywhere up to 24 min at the furthest distance. Cross-examination or the deployment of leading questions becomes ineffective as an investigatory technique between parties on Earth and parties in deep space. Questions arise as to the commencement dates of statutes, whether they commence at the same time on Earth as they do by the frame of reference of a deep space crew. Routine contractual matters such as offer and acceptance also become uncertain between parties on Earth and those in deep space. Should human beings develop the technology to travel close to the speed of light, not only will these problems still be evident, they will also be compounded by the phenomenon of ‘time dilation’.

KW - Space law

KW - Physics

KW - Communications latency

KW - Time dilation

KW - Contract law

KW - Legal procedure

U2 - 10.1007/s11196-026-10497-8

DO - 10.1007/s11196-026-10497-8

M3 - Article

SN - 0952-8059

JO - International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Semiotigue juridique

JF - International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Semiotigue juridique

ER -