The 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that celestial bodies and the Moon are not subject to “national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use of occupation, or by any other means.” Critics contend that the restriction will put a serious damper on lunar mining and colonization. Now the Trump administration is backing a new international agreement called the Artemis Accords to cerate standards of behavior for moon mining practices, reports Just the News.
In 2015, the U.S. passed a law granting private companies ownership over any resources they mine in outer space. Similar laws do not exist anywhere else in the world. The Artemis Accords with other potentially spacefaring nations would bypass the United Nations treaty process, which would require getting buy-in from non-spacefaring nations.
Says Just the News: “The key conceit of the accords will be establishing ‘safety zones’ surrounding future moon bases, preventing damage and conflict between different countries with outlets on the moon.”