WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Robotically surveying lunar craters in record time and mining resources in space could help NASA establish a sustained human presence at the Moon – part of the agency’s broader Moon to Mars exploration approach. Two mission concepts to explore these capabilities have been selected as the first-ever Phase III studies within the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
By Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Luxembourg’s announcement of its space resources initiative provides three things that companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries (DSI) need to make their dreams of mining asteroids a reality.
Legal Recognition. The United States is alone in the world in recognizing space property rights. There is some dispute over whether the law violates the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
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WASHINGTON, DC, November 25th, 2015 (Moon Express PR) – Today, history was made when President Obama signed legislation into law recognizing and promoting the rights of Moon Express to explore, harvest and own resources from the Moon. This historic law was passed as Title IV of the “U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act”, making the United States the first nation to explicitly recognize private sector mining rights for water and minerals obtained from the Moon.
SAN JOSE, Calif., July 17, 2015 (IAA PR) — A study released today by the International Academy of Astronautics found that space mineral resources (SMR) can benefit humanity and serve as an economic “game changer,” especially in developing countries.
The study, the most comprehensive to date, examined the latest technologies, economics, law and policy related to SMR opportunities and included several recommendations to space agencies and analysis of options to advance this exploration.
“This study is not about how to leverage space mineral resources, but rather how best to leverage them,” according to Art Dula, co-editor of the study and a faculty member of the Houston Law School where he teaches space law. Dula is also Trustee of the Heinlein Prize Trust, one of the organizations participating in the study. “Improving the world we know today will be possible by leveraging the phenomenal resources available in our solar system,” he said.
The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is working on a study on space mineral resources that it plans to submit to the heads of 40 space agencies at an upcoming summit, according to study chairman Art Dula.
The study, titled “Space Mineral Resources – Challenges and Opportunities,” will “provide a logical, systematic and practical road map to promote and encourage near term evaluation, development and use of space mineral resources (SMR) in space,” according to a description on the IAA website.
It’s time to pop the space balloon meme
There’s been a growing number of efforts by amateurs to fly balloons high into the atmosphere and take “pictures of spaceâ€, or even claim to have flown in space. Jeff Foust examines how how this phenomenon, and especially the media coverage of it, could have a detrimental effect on actual spaceflight.
An experiment in sustainability and spaceflight
Future long-duration human spaceflight will require technologies that can sustain life while reusing and recycling as much as possible. Kit Martin argues that the same technologies can also be essential to sustaining life on Earth.
Review: Crossing the Threshold
How can we take advantage of the virtually boundless energy and material resources in the solar system? Jeff Foust reviews a book that offers a series of proposals to accelerate humanity’s expansion into and utilization of space.
The question of where humanity should go next in space will be the topic of a round table on Friday, Oct. 29 at the Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel.
“Moon, Mars, Asteroids: Where to Go First for Resources?†will bring together some of the world’s top experts to debate our next step in the settlement of space. The round table, sponsored by the Space Studies Institute, will be held from 7:00 to 10 p.m., including a post-debate reception. Admission is free to registered conference attendees and the general public.
