New US Asteroid Mining Law Could Violate International Space Treaty

Past week, President Obama signed the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, governing ownership of asteroid resources. This could trigger a fresh fight in the commercial space race. The new US Asteroid Mining Law may lead to the violation of International Space Treaty.

Under the section 5103 of the Act, the companies in the US get the right to resources mined from asteroids, though it hasn’t given them rights to the asteroids themselves.

The signing of the act by the president has drawn applause from a five-year-old asteroid mining company Planetary Resources.

Eric Anderson, cofounder of the company, remarked that the law has established the same kind of framework that assisted the growth of ‘the great economies in history’. He said this was the history’s single greatest recognition of property rights.

The latest law could ease the doubts of the investors of Planetary Resources, but it is not likely to do much to settle certain international law matters, and may precipitate space-based conflicts in the coming time.

McGill University's Ram Jakhu, associate director of the Center for Research of Air and Space Law, said that in case the US can take such a powerful step then other nations can also do so.

While speaking to TechNewsWorld, he mentioned, “The caution is, because it's international space, the moon and other celestial bodies don't belong to anyone. This should be resolved through some sort of international cooperation. There has to be international cooperation eventually”.

According to Jakhum, besides giving a bigger framework, the latest law requires more lateral legislation to support it with the growth of the space mining industry.