Daniel Garcia, Counsel in Baker McKenzie’s Transactional Practice Group, co-authored an article for Springer Nature exploring the evolving legal framework for biomedical and pharmaceutical research conducted in space. Titled “At the Intersection of Law and Space Science: Bridging Gaps in the Current Legal Framework for Orbital Research, the article examines how existing international treaties and US laws apply to orbital research as activity expands beyond the International Space Station (ISS) to commercially operated platforms. 

Using practical scenarios, Daniel analyzes key issues such as intellectual property ownership, data integrity and traceability, and the regulatory treatment of space-derived research used on Earth, noting that current laws were not designed for today’s operational realities. He also highlights that as the ISS nears decommissioning and private-sector activity accelerates the growing importance of contractual solutions to address legal uncertainty and support continued innovation, collaboration and trust in space-based research. 

The full article is available here: At the Intersection of law and Space Science: Bridging gaps in the Current legal Framework for Orbital Research