This week, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order endorsing the right of United States citizens "to engage in commercial exploration, recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law. Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons."
Now, from the perspective of global politics and outer space, this isn't a great moment. There's a existing international agreement from 1979, the Moon Agreement, that stipulates that non-scientific use of extra-terrestrial resources be controlled by international oversight, but the United States has never been a signator - in fact, in 2015 Congress passed a law that basically said that any US citizen involved in the commercial recovery of "space resources" is entitled to them.
The new Executive Order specifically states that "...the United States does not consider the Moon Agreement to be an effective or necessary instrument to guide nation states regarding the promotion of commercial participation in the long-term exploration, scientific discovery and use of the Moon, Mars or other celestial bodies."
The key word there is "commercial" - the 1967 Outer Space Treaty states that nations cannot claim space or any celestial bodies, but the United States is saying that corporate exploitation by US citizens is completely permitted, rather like drilling for oil in international waters, and that they can keep whatever they find. The new order does say that this should be consistent with applicable law, but then immediately announces that the existing agreements aren't applicable.
In other words, to quote Ron Swanson's permit from Parks & Recreation, "I can do what I want."
From the perspective of a science fiction fan, this is a fascinating development, given that one of the common tropes of near-future science fiction is the exploitation of mineral resources as the driving force for expansion into the further reaches of our solar system - and eventually, other planetary systems. This kind of development provides a logical purpose for space exploration, combined with an obvious return on investment.
However, the potential for disaster is epic, which is why there need to be controls in place. As with undersea oil drilling , if something goes wrong, it's unlikely that its effects will be restricted to the area where the accident took place. True, there's no equivalent to aquatic life that can be harmed, but the real analogy is that eventually the oil reaches a coastline - and in this case, we're talking about the entire planet, rather than a few miles of beach.
We're decades away from any kind of practical industrial exploitation of space, but if something goes wrong that results in asteroid mining debris or radioactive waste hitting Earth, it's going to take a lot more than a few drums of Dawn dish detergent to deal with the consequences.
- Sid
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