Finders keepers in space

As the U.S. Congress passed last Tuesday the H.R. 2262 – a ‘finders keepers’ law that allows someone who discovers resources on another planet, galaxy, or universe to claim them legally we now face a space race from the private sector to claim these resources.

Thanks to the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and its amendments we have seen an influx of private companies such a SpaceX or Virgin Galactic trying to get their missions beyond orbit and into the galaxies far far away.

Although under international law it is still illegal to claim extraterrestrial real estate, it is now legal to harvest the wealth contained in moons, planets and asteroids.

This is will, no doubt, launch a series of legal issues if any of the projects currently in the pipeline take off – in the literal sense of the word.

Asteroid mining is already a reality with Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources in the marketplace, we will no doubt see others following suit.

However, after the recent NASA revelations on the environment on Mars – what constitutes life? Will other planets have life forms? If so, what spectrum will they be in? Where will we draw the line?

Before we answer all the above we will see stronger investment in space technology and a significant growth in the sector going forward.