Abstract
The most widely adopted agreement on space law, the Outer Space Treaty (OST) (1967), actively promotes international partnerships and peaceful uses of outer space. It also forbids any claims of sovereignty or private property on celestial bodies; however, nothing is explicitly written about the use of resources that can be found there. Other texts, like the Moon Agreement (1979), attempted to extend provisions on this regard, but only 18 nations ratified this agreement, probably because it also contains obligations that remove all incentives for the private industry to participate in the exploitation of outer space resources, such as the obligation to disclose all discoveries and share the benefits between all state parties. Today, most missions are scientific, so there is no need to compete for using space resources. If tomorrow society wants to incentivize participation, and leverage the available funds, from the private sector to explore and exploit outer space, an allocation mechanism that allows to dispute the use of resources needs to be set up. On Earth, this is achieved by the private property system and commercial competition. However, private property is not allowed by the OST, because it has a right of exclusion, and everyone shall be free to use space resources if it does not interfere with activities of other nations. An exclusivity of use for the first nation to exploit a given resource is not desired either and is precisely why the OST was established in the first place. In full compliance with the OST, this paper introduces the concept of Partial Ownership of Outer Space Resources (POOSR). This system allows to compete for the use of resources, without granting monopoly, as it always keeps the competition for ownership open. It is based on the introduction of a Harberger tax and a Partial Ownership system, that allows to expose commonly-owned resources (such as outer space asteroids, or planetary surface areas) to the efficiency of allocation provided by market dynamics, while preserving the incentives for investment to the current owners and preventing resource locking. This paper shows how such system would foster investments from private entities, as well as how it would benefit to all the international entities or nations participating to it. The synergy between such system, international regulations, and national laws, to establish a regulation for space mining and other outer space activities is also discussed.
Highlights
The most widely adopted agreement on space law, the Outer Space Treaty (OST) (1967), actively promotes international partnerships and peaceful uses of outer space
An efficient allocation mechanism for outer space resources that is friendly to the private sector, but without private property, preserving outer space as “the province of all mankind”
Harberger licensing [5] is a partial ownership system that allows exposing public goods and government-owned natural resources to the efficiency of allocation provided by market dynamics while preserving the incentives for investment to the current owners, and preventing monopoly
Summary
Exploring new planetary bodies and exploiting their resources to set up a sustainable space infrastructure is a medium-term objective for all major space-faring nations, but how can we organize to get there? How can international collaboration be fostered to decide common policies, tackle common issues, preserve sovereignty of the nations, and stimulate economic growth of all the participants?. This section introduces current space agreements and proposes a governance structure for international collaboration on large scale projects like Asteroid Mining, Moon exploration, and Mars settlement. A decision-making process that is compatible with specialized interests is introduced, and it Advances in Astronautics Science and Technology (2020) 3:29–36 is discussed the role of private companies, as well as some ethical considerations
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.