Michelle Hanlon

{{short description|American lawyer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Michelle Hanlon

| image = Michelle Hanlon.jpg

| birth_name = Michelle Lea Desyin Slawecki

| nationality = American

| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted list|Yale College|Georgetown University Law Center|McGill University}}

| organization = For All Moonkind

| known_for = Space law expert and advocate for the protection of heritage in outer space

| website = {{URL|www.forallmoonkind.org}}

}}

Michelle Lea Desyin Slawecki Hanlon (born August 8, 1965) is an American space lawyer and space law professor.{{Cite web|last=Garst|first=Aron|date=2020-03-10|title=How Star Trek's Prime Directive is influencing real-time space law|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/star-trek-influences-real-space-law-for-all-moonkind|access-date=2021-05-20|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en}} She is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of For All Moonkind, and Executive Director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.{{Cite web|author=Staff Report|date=2018-09-10|title=Flying Cars to Asteroid Mining: UM Prepares for Future Legal Issues|url=https://news.olemiss.edu/flying-cars-asteroid-mining-um-prepares-future-legal-issues/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Ole Miss News|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|last=Drake|first=Nadia|author-link=Nadia Drake|date=2019-07-11|title=Should Neil Armstrong's Bootprints Be on the Moon Forever?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/science/moon-apollo-11-archaeology-preservation.html|access-date=2021-05-19}}{{Cite web|title=How Do You Preserve History On The Moon?|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/21/696129505/how-do-you-preserve-history-on-the-moon|access-date=2021-05-20|website=NPR.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=David|first=Leonard|date=2019-06-04|title=Space Act Calls for Protection of Apollo 11 Landing Site|url=https://www.space.com/congress-protect-apollo-11-landing-site.html|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Space.com|language=en}}

In July 2017, Hanlon co-founded For All Moonkind with Tim Hanlon. It is a nonprofit organization protecting human cultural heritage in outer space.{{Cite web|date=2019-07-19|title=Historic preservation taken out of this world: Oxford couple founds 'For All Moonkind' to push for protection of moon landing sites, human objects in space|url=https://cdispatch.com/news/2019-07-19/historic-preservation-taken-out-of-this-world-oxford-couple-founds-for-all-moonkind-to-push-for-protection-of-moon-landing-sites-human-objects-in-space/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=The Dispatch|language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine|title=Inside the Fight to Save the Moon's Historic Sites|url=https://time.com/5627640/moon-historic-sites/|access-date=2021-05-20|magazine=Time|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=David|first=Leonard|title=NASA Proposes New Rules for Moon-Focused Space Race|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nasa-proposes-new-rules-for-moon-focused-space-race/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Scientific American|language=en}} The organization is a permanent observer to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.{{Cite web|title=President Signs Law Protecting Lunar Heritage Sites|url=https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/president-signs-law-protecting-lunar-heritage-sites/|access-date=2021-05-20|language=en-US}} It advocates internationally, including with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, for the development of protocols to identify and protect human history in space.{{Cite web|last=Kovach|first=John|date=2019-07-09|title=New Canaan group works to save Apollo sites|url=https://www.ncadvertiser.com/news/article/New-Canaan-group-works-to-save-Apollo-sites-14085913.php|access-date=2021-05-20|website=New Canaan Advertiser|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Wall|first=Mike|title=New Group Works to Preserve Apollo Lunar Landing Sites|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-group-works-to-preserve-apollo-lunar-landing-sites/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Scientific American|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Legal questions linger as governments and companies keep pushing into space|url=https://www.engadget.com/new-laws-needed-for-space-mining-exploration-sxsw-2021-194711581.html|access-date=2021-05-20|website=Engadget|date=19 March 2021 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=The Space Review: In the new spectrum of space law, will Biden favor the Moon Treaty?|url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4073/1|access-date=2021-05-20|website=www.thespacereview.com}}

Hanlon serves on the advisory board of several start-ups involved in commercial space activities, including orbital debris removal, remote sensing, and the support of lunar resource extraction.{{Cite web|last=Sheldon|first=John|date=2020-04-22|title=#SpaceWatchGL Perspective On US Space Resources Executive Order: Michelle Hanlon On How The Moon Agreement Is Finished|url=https://spacewatch.global/2020/04/spacewatchgl-perspective-on-us-space-resources-executive-order-michelle-hanlon-on-how-the-moon-agreement-is-finished/|access-date=2021-05-20|website=SpaceWatch.Global|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Feldscher|first=Jacqueline|title=How a park on the moon could lead to more consensus on space exploration|url=https://politi.co/31YmG8V|access-date=2021-05-20|website=POLITICO|language=en}} In 2021, Hanlon joined the Advisory Council of The Hague Institute for Global Justice Off-World Approach, created to serve as a platform "where leading experts in space enterprise can work to develop a rule of law in space that is flexible, inclusive, and permissive for the next generation of space adventurers to excel."{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Marsha|date=2021-10-20|title=Hague Institute's "Off-World Approach" Seeks Inclusive, Equitable Space Future|url=https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/hague-institutes-off-world-approach-seeks-inclusive-equitable-space-future/|access-date=2021-10-22|website=SpacePolicyOnline.com}}

In March 2023, Hanlon announced at the meeting of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the formation of the Institute on Space Law and Ethics—a "new nonprofit organization will go beyond advocating for protecting off-world heritage sites and contemplate the ethics around some activities in space that are not fully covered in existing international law."{{Cite web|title=Lunar laws Could Protect the Moon from Humanity|date=10 April 2023 |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/space-law-moon-protections/}} While Space ethics is a discipline that discusses the moral and ethical implications of space exploration the Institute on Space Law and Ethics will look to address current issues in space exploration.

Hanlon is the editor-in-chief of each of the Journal of Space Law and the Journal of Drone Law and Policy. She serves as the Executive Director of the Master of Laws program in the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.{{Cite web|title=Lunar Laws Could Protect the Moon from Humanity|date=10 April 2023 |url=https://www.popsci.com/science/space-law-moon-protections/}}