CAJ - Is it legal?

    When I discussed my CAJ with some of my flatmates, a very interesting question came up. I told them about asteroid mining and how companies such as Planetary Resources or SpaceX are trying to actually achieve their goal when someone interrupted me “But is it legal to do that? I mean, do they buy asteroids beforehand and then send their rockets there to mine for mineral resources?”. This reminded me of the question Hendrik asked me in class. “Who should own asteroids – are there any laws?”. I honestly had no idea but I have to admit that the question was reasonable, so I started looking this issue up.

    

    There is a United Nations Outer Space Treaty that prohibits ownership of celestial bodies by nations. However, there is no specific regulation for companies or individuals. Here is the link to it: http://www.state.gov/www/global/arms/treaties/space1.html

    Theoretically, every country has the right to withdraw from this treaty. If the United States pulled out, the problem would be solved and Planetary Resources would be officially allowed to mine for minerals.

    

    In June 2012 several experts met at a Space Resources Roundtable to discuss the legal issue behind off-Earth resources. The discussion revealed that the opinion of legal experts is deeply divided on this issue. According to Leslie Gertsch, director of the Rock Mechanics & Explosives Research Centre at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, "the form that space law will finally take will depend on who has the guts and funds to start the process, what case it’s started with, […] and how the lawyers chose to argue their respective points during its course".

    

    One of the most interesting questions to me is what one of the companies has to say about owning asteroids.

    Unsurprisingly, the founders of Planetary Resources are convinced that space mining is legal. Co-founder Eric Anderson told Discovery News in an interview "We as a U.S. company certainly have the right to go on asteroid and make use of its resources. It is a stated goal of the U.S. government to enable and promote commercial activities and economic activity in space.”

    

    Another person who is in favor that private companies should have the right to mine on asteroids is Art Dula. He is a space law professor at the University of Houston. Dula states that the outer space treaty permits the ‘use’ of outer space by nongovernmental organizations. However, it does not permit commercial or business use. Moreover, he is convinced that the project cannot be realized at the moment and that people should not worry too much about it. “It costs so much just to get up there. You have to get a gang of billionaires together to even talk about this stuff."