Understanding the Promises and Pitfalls of Outer Space Mining and the Need for an International Regulatory Body to Govern the Extraction of Space-Based Resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/tlp.2019.229Abstract
Space exploration is about to undergo a monumental change and the global legal and regulatory infrastructure is massively unprepared. When the bulk of international space law was written, the Cold War was raging, and man had not even landed on the Moon yet. Now, thanks to advances in technology, a seismic shift has occurred which will see private industry leading the future of space exploration with national space agencies as partners, rather than the other way around as has been the status quo for decades. One of the most lucrative possibilities luring private firms to space is the opportunity to extract resources from a celestial body such as an asteroid, another planet, or the Moon. It is estimated that trillions of dollars’ worth of precious metals, liquids, and gasses exist on these bodies. A galactic resource race will soon be underway, and space-faring nations must take the lead to ensure that legal, economic, and environmental issues posed by such space exploration is hammered out before it is too late. I assert that if left to their own devices, firms will fail to follow the same standard of their fore-father government space agencies. As a result, we need an international agreement or body for the twenty-first century to govern and regulate the extraction of resources from outer space led by the great space hegemons.Downloads
Published
2019-05-24
How to Cite
Powell, M. (2019). Understanding the Promises and Pitfalls of Outer Space Mining and the Need for an International Regulatory Body to Govern the Extraction of Space-Based Resources. Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law & Policy, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/tlp.2019.229
Issue
Section
Staff Article Series
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons 4.0 License (Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works), or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- Noncommercial—other users (including Publisher) may not use this Work for commercial purposes;
- No Derivative Works—other users (including Publisher) may not alter, transform, or build upon this Work,with the understanding that any of the above conditions can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.