RMN'S Blog

New Bill for Mining in Outer Space

Date: February 15, 2016

Have you ever thought of establishing property rights on celestial orbs in outer space? It turns out that the United States government has been planning this move for some time. Recently, President Obama signed a law that would support the rights of companies to mine for resources in objects in outer space. These objects would include looking for resources on the moon, asteroids, and Mars for profit.

This new law is known as the United States Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act. It aims to establish the needed infrastructure to allow for commercial miners to keep and sell the minerals and resources they collect from heavenly orbs. As a result, it is expected that this industry will become a trillion dollar per year endeavor.

The government plans for the law to address current issues that can arise during its “learning period”; this will be a time for the government to form regulations for space ventures by the private sector through 2023. By 2025, commercial space launches are planned to begin, and the International Space Station (ISS) should stay in operation until 2024 at the latest.

Mining for resources outside of Earth’s limits is a great way to expand human endeavors, especially since Earth’s resources are growing increasingly limited. According to Texas House of Representative Lamar Smith, commercial space firms are making significant developments to invest in the exploration of outer space resources. In addition, a number of companies are creating technology to extract minerals from celestial objects.

This is a huge step forward when it comes to environmental law and protecting Earth’s resources. Natural resources of our planet will not last forever, and looking to outside sources is a way to keep the planet sustained for the future. Chairman Rick Tumlinson of Deep Space Industries says this law will be “one of the hallmarks of the opening of space” and opened the doors to the vast wealth available within our solar system. The best part of this bill is that it gives legal rights to any resources a US citizen may collect while exploring outer space in accordance to the current US laws & International obligations.

With this new bill in progress, President Obama has 180 days to present an outline to the procedures the government will use to regulate celestial property without violating the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Opening new doors to vast amount of celestial resources is a great way to keep the Earth’s resources preserved. Hopefully the bill will be passed so we can continue to make strides to better the planet.