Legal Future of Asteroid Mining

The asteroid, which is a 5 trillion dollar mine cargo, will pass 2.4 million kilometers away; reignited the debate on space mining.
First of all, what is a mine?

According to the Turkish Mining Legislation, the description of the mine is stated in the Mining Law Article 2:

Article 2 - Any substance that exists naturally in the earth's crust and water resources, other than oil, natural gas, geothermal and water resources of economic and commercial value, is mine according to this Law.

As long as the expression “Asteroid” or “Celestial Bodies” is not added to the expression of earth crust and water resources in the current form of the law, any substance we obtain from asteroids will not be counted as minerals.
Similarly, in the international texts, adherence to the crust / supply is at the forefront. In Article 1 of the ILO's 176th Safety and Health Agreement on Mines, the International Labor Organization:
Article 1
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the mine covers the following locations -
(a) spaces on the surface or under the earth's crust, where the following activities are carried out in particular:

(i) seeking minerals, excluding oil and gas, by performing mechanical interventions on the ground;

(ii) mining, except oil and gas;

(iii) preparing the removed material in a variety of ways, including crushing, grinding, concentrating or washing; and

(b) any machinery, equipment, device, construction site, buildings and engineering structures used in connection with the activities referred to in (a) above.

The legal framework of Asteroid Mining and its definition is not yet clearly drawn, like other Space Law issues. The debate in the doctrine focuses especially on the PROPRIETARY RIGHT of the subject.

1) How do I get an asteroid in space? IMMOVABLE PROPERTY as if buying a house or automobile etc. SHOULD BE MOVED AS POSSIBLE?

2) Or can I have an asteroid in space?

text among the first nations on the subject, previous articles in our also mentioned signed in 1967 and which Turkey is a party, "Moon and Other Celestial Include Fields, Agreement on Space Exploration And Principles Governing States of their activities on Using" aka, the Outer Space is the Treaty.

“Freedom of Use”, which is one of the principles introduced by this agreement established at the United Nations, is about the discovery and research of space and celestial bodies. Another important principle of the agreement, the principle of "Common Humanity", envisages the exploration and use of space for the good of humanity.

Article 2 of the Agreement: "Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, cannot be claimed by any nation by claiming sovereignty, occupation, or any other kind of movement." has brought the provision.

In the Space Race, which started in the 1950s, under the leadership of the Soviet Union and the United States, no party can establish sovereignty in space. This initiative was initiated with the intention of preventing the claim of the possible victorious state in the race on the Moon and other celestial bodies. It is argued in the doctrine that the ban under Article 2, therefore, only binds the states and prohibits the establishment of sovereignty, does not cover companies with legal personality, etc. So according to this view; Republic of Turkey as a state mining Cosmic Although we will not be able Eddy Mining Corporation as we can mining.
Based on this point, the company named Deep Space Industries, which was established in the USA, plans to capture its first asteroid in 2015, bring its first examples to the World in 2016, and switch to active asteroid mining in 2023.

Another initiative was launched in 2015, funded by Google's founder Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt, advised by renowned science builders such as James Cameron, and by millionaire space entrepreneurs like Eric Anderson and Peter Diamandis. Planetary Resources.

These companies supplement Article 10 of the American Constitution “Powers that are not granted to the United States by the Constitution or prohibited by states by the Constitution belong to states or the public.” It claims that they have the right to asteroid mining pursuant to the provision.

But who is not in this view; There are lawyers who argue that article 2 of the Outer Space Agreement is broadly interpreted and restrictive not only for States but also for real and legal persons.
A huge analogy of the "rush of gold" 200 years ago will be inevitably experienced in the field of asteroid mining in the next 50 years.
American citizen Greg Nemitz sent a "Parking Fee Invoice" to NASA, who sent an exploration vehicle to EROS, claiming that the asteroid EROS was registered in 2001 on behalf of him. In the dispute brought to the court, the decision made by the American Court rejected the case on the grounds that no one could own the outer space objects and that plaintiff Greg Nemitz could not prove the ownership right on EROS by referring to Article 2 of the Outer Space Treaty.

Space Law is an area on which consensus is not formed. In the future, we will experience a GOLDEN GOLD-like ASTEROID BREAK in the newly discovered America in the 1400s. And this future will come true soon. Similar to the Portuguese and Spanish colonial sharing wars that began after the discovery of America, this will occur in the near future between the USA and another possible space power state (Russia or China).

The first attack, Pope VI. It was partially resolved by sharing the regions discovered between Spain and Portugal with the Tordesillas Treaty of June 7, 1494, signed between the two countries as a result of the intervention of Alexander.

This new cosmic attack will also be resolved by international law in the light of the above doctrinal debates.

The main question that needs to be answered is whether we can take cosmic steps in the name of all humanity, leaving aside conflicts of interest.
Previous Post Next Post