Exploding the moon may sound like a concept that belongs in a science fiction novel, but it’s likely to become part of reality in the not-so-distant future. This has made it a hot topic of discussion among space lawyers (yes, there are space lawyers) on Earth.
When Michelle Hanlon, co-director of the University of Mississippi’s Air and Space Law Program, tells people what she does for a living, she says most people are confused.
“Most people think I’m a real estate attorney, what kind of space do you sell?” she said laughing. But in fact, Hanlon is an expert on the law that governs outer space.
There are several international agreements that govern space, including the Outer Space Treaty, which was drafted during the Cold War and signed by more than 100 countries, including the United States, China, and Russia.
This treaty, which states that “outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty,” is what prevents countries from coming forward and claiming ownership of the moon.
An artist rendering of the planned International Lunar Research Station, a joint development by China and Russia. (China National Space Administration)
“You can’t plant a flag anywhere in space and say this now belongs to the United States, this now belongs to Russia, this now belongs to China,” Hanlon said.
But when it comes to mining the moon for resources, things get more complicated. Legal experts are working to figure out exactly how this treaty applies when nations, or private companies working on behalf of nations, begin harvesting resources from the moon or asteroids.
“By building a mining operation, some would argue … you’re actually claiming sovereignty by another means,” Hanlon said. “We have to learn to do something in space that we haven’t yet learned to do on Earth. And that is: be aware and respectful of each other.”
This will be put to the test in the coming years as major space nations race to establish bases on the Moon.
NASA’s Artemis mission, to which the Canadian Space Agency contributes, hopes to send humans to the Moon by 2030.
This time, the plan is not just to visit, but to stay for good. This includes building a base camp at the lunar south pole, as well as a lunar gateway, a spacecraft that would orbit the moon.
China and Russia have their own lunar base under development, a collaboration between the two countries called the International Lunar Research Station.
To avoid transporting resources from Earth to maintain these habitats, space programs hope to harvest resources from the icy surface of the Moon. This includes water, essential to human life and a source of fuel when broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, as well as rare earth minerals and helium-3, a potential source of energy.
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NASA has selected four companies to “harvest space resources” on its behalf and launched a competition for the public to design, build and test prototypes to dig into the moon’s icy dirt.
“The moon is pretty big, and the moon itself won’t get crowded, but the areas where we know there’s water will get crowded,” Hanlon said.
Not the wild west
Given the history of mining on Earth, including the human toll and environmental damage, there is concern that the same mistakes will be repeated when humans become a truly space-faring species.
“Sometimes I worry,” said Kuan-Wei Chen, a legal expert on space law and executive director of McGill University’s Center for Air and Space Law Research.
“We don’t want to repeat history again, when countries and commercial operators go to what they call a ‘new world’ to start fighting and engaging in conflicts over resources.”
That is why, he says, it is up to academics and governments to emphasize that there are laws that govern space.
“Space is not a legal vacuum. It’s not the Wild West. It shouldn’t be the Wild West.”
NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket is located at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. A second attempt to launch the unmanned spacecraft is scheduled for Saturday. (John Raoux/The Associated Press)
To help guide countries through these existing frameworks, Chen worked with a team from McGill University and a coalition of international experts to produce a handbook on international law in outer space.
Given current geopolitical tensions, including Russia announcing it will abandon the International Space Station and build its own, Chen says it’s better to work with existing treaties rather than trying to get countries to agree on a new one .
But the outer space treaty is open to interpretation when it comes to mining.
“The law says very clearly that you are not allowed to appropriate the moon. Now, does that mean you are not allowed to mine and use the resources that are on the soil or subsoil of the moon? That is not clear.” Chen said. .
Generally OK – if you mine it, you own it
NASA introduced the Artemis Accords in 2020, as what it describes as establishing “a safe and transparent environment that facilitates exploration, science and commercial activities for all humanity to enjoy.”
In a statement sent to CBC, a spokesperson said that “the extraction of space resources does not inherently constitute national appropriation.”
But Russia and China have not signed the US-led accords, and experts say they are unlikely to.
“Russia and China believe very strongly that the only place space law can be made is within the United Nations and they see the Artemis Accords as trying to circumvent that,” Hanlon said.
“I think the US would say we’re not shirking, we’re just getting started.”
Regardless, Hanlon said Artemis’ interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty agreements as it applies to mining is in line with what has been generally accepted. She says the dam, which China and Russia have never agreed to, can be summed up as “if you mine it, you own it.”
Michelle Hanlon, co-director of the University of Mississippi’s Air and Space Law Program, said that if humans can come up with a plan to sustainably manage resources in space, it will benefit all of humanity. (Submitted by Michelle Hanlon)
As nations move closer to establishing a presence on the moon and beyond, Hanlon and Chen agree there needs to be more awareness of how international law is applied.
The hope is that nations will respect current treaties and find a way to collect resources equitably and sustainably.
If they do not, or if a conflict arises, the international community will have to rely on diplomatic pressure, or there is the possibility of recourse to the International Court of Justice.
“We have to make sure that whatever we do in outer space and also on the Moon does not have a detrimental impact on us now, but also on the future generation,” Chen said.
“These international laws … were drafted with the guiding principles of ensuring that space is a peaceful domain and ensuring that there is a sustainable future for the future of humanity in outer space, on the Moon and on other planets “.
Kuan-Wei Chen, executive director of McGill University’s Center for Air and Space Law Research, said that while he worries about how space mining will develop, he has faith in the law (Submitted by Kuan-Wei Chen)