With both advances in technology and increasing demand for limited raw materials on earth, the issue of private property rights and protecting the ecosystem of the moon has again assumed prominence. While it is widely believed that many parts of the Moon Agreement are unworkable, until recently there has been no impetus for a new system, simply because it seemed unnecessary. This paper will argue that a new system is necessary, and that the way to ease into it to set up a provisional system, under the aegis of the Outer Space Treaty, that will allow the first few enterprises to work on the moon real legal certainty for their activities. This provisional system will allow the pioneers legal certainty for their activities while preserving the rights of the citizens of the world as the system develops, so that even as the resources of the moon are used to help mankind, the environment of the moon is protected. This way, the space law community can see what problems will arise in this experimental atmosphere, enabling them to perfect, when the activities on the moon become so widespread that a permanent system is needed, a legal framework that both encourages commercial activity and protects space from pointless environmental damage.
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