Off-Earth mining in the context of sustainable development

摘要

With a growing population, there are questions about whether Earth can sustain the needs of everyone and with an ever-increasing demand for resources; it is natural that we might look to Space to supply Earth with resources necessary for our continued development. Asteroids, the Moon and Mars all contain important indigenous resources that could be extracted and returned to Earth and as innovation continues to reduce the cost of space travel, the extraction of resources from these bodies, in some form, is a likelihood within the next decade. Like Antarctica and the deep sea, space is considered a global commons, the resources contained within belonging to all of mankind. The extraction of resources from Antarctica and the deep seabed are subject to international policy, and while there are international laws and treaties applicable to activities in Space, the extraction of raw materials in Space is largely unregulated. The outdated Outer Space Treaty, which is the basis of international Space law and was ratified in 1967, leaves several questions remaining regarding ownership of space resources, environmental stewardship in space, security and a number of other issues.