Dr Thomas Cheney
Lecturer in Space Governance
Using legal geography and environmental humanities to better understanding space resources, space exploration, space settlement and more!

Hi, I'm Thomas
I’m a lecturer in space governance at the Open University, working within the AstrobiologyOU group and the school of law. I’m a legal academic who uses the frameworks of legal geography and the environmental humanities to consider the current and future governance of activities in outer space. I focus on space resources (mining), space exploration, and space settlement, among other things. My key aim is to understand these issues within the broader historical, political, and cultural context.
I’m a lifelong science fiction fan and space enthusiast who is fully subscribed the utopian vision of the human future, but I believe that in order for that better future to be made a reality some changes need to be made. This is why I undertake a critical approach to my work, expansionist ideas rooted in imperialism and the approach to nature and natural resource consumption that have resulted in environmental catastrophe aren’t simply going to go away by going to outer space (or developing new technology or by virtue of ‘progress’.)
Through this website you can find out about my work.
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