Last week’s announcement by Planetary Resources to eventually mine near-Earth asteroids has unleashed a controversy over property rights in space. There is some dispute as to whether the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits private ownership of celestial objects.
I won’t comment on the legalities, as I am not well versed in the Outer Space Treaty. But morally, the answer is quite clear. Those who extract minerals from asteroids are the rightful owners of those materials and the area in which they are mining. But this does not give those entrepreneurs ownership of the entire celestial body.
For example, if a private company began mining on the moon, others would remain free to mine other areas of the moon. The first company could only claim ownership of that area necessary for its operations and others could not interfere with their enterprise.
The US government should nip this controversy in the bud by defending private property rights in space. Of course, this is highly unlikely, since the government fails to do that here on Earth.
HT: Rob Abiera