New US space mining law to spark interplanetary gold rush
Flashing some interplanetary gold bling and sipping "space water" might sound far-fetched, but both could soon be reality, thanks to a new US law that legalizes cosmic mining.
In a first, President Barack Obama signed legislation at the end of November that allows commercial extraction of minerals and other materials, including water, from asteroids and the moon.
Alright, let the extraterrestrial gold rush begin!
Article:
http://phys.org/news/2015-12-space-law-interplanetary-gold.html
Illustration credit: NASA
#space #spacemininglaw #nasa #privateaeronautics
I like how we assume they are ours for the mining. Do other countries also have claims, or are they just too late to the asteroid mining game? Not quite sure how it will work.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Trey Pitsenberger ... but sounds interesting for a monopoly version.
ReplyDeleteFinally, Boardwalk and Park Place may not be the highest priced properties anymore.
ReplyDeletePerhaps since the USA landed on the moon, they are claiming it? First dibs. Russia and China (or the EU) won't be happy
ReplyDeleteLOL... The phrase "overreaching his jurisdiction" comes to mind ;-)
ReplyDeleteActually, you can look up the actual law online. Its pretty brief. Roughly, it (1) requires various agencies to produce various reports, and (2) allows U.S. entities (citizens & organizations) to own space resources that they retrieve, without (3) claiming any national jurisdiction or ownership. Please read it yourself for the details and subtleties.
ReplyDeleteHouse bill:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262
Congress bill:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1297
Bill Trowbridge thanks for the link. It does seem a rather short law considering the ramifications. Likely they are not too sure what lies ahead. I did notice they included this, "Congress recognizes the vital and unique role played by the Department of Defense (DOD) in the protection of national security assets in space."
ReplyDeleteI would assume there is international law in place concerning harvesting asteroids.
Thanks Bill Kemp "Shot cross the bow" is a great analogy to what this law seems to be driving at.
ReplyDelete