Who Owns The Moon? The Coming Fight Over Space Law and Treaties

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Who owns the Moon? Explore the rising debate over space law, treaties, and the future of lunar ownership.
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In my view, we should resist this creeping enclosure. The Moon is not a new colony; it is a shared scientific laboratory and cultural heritage site. To honour the Outer Space Treaty’s promise that outer space is the province of all humankind, we need an inclusive regime that provides legal certainty for private actors while ensuring equitable benefit-sharing and environmental protection. Such a regime could draw lessons from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which established an international seabed authority and requires companies to share benefits from deep-sea mining. At a minimum, states should agree to: (1) register resource extraction activities, (2) cap the size and duration of safety zones, (3) contribute to an international fund that invests in global scientific research and infrastructure, and (4) safeguard cultural and environmental heritage. Without these checks, the Moon could become yet another arena where powerful nations externalize risk and monopolize gains.