Mining in space: A Current Opportunity for the Czech Republic to Promote a Multilateral International Order
Abstract
In early December 2020, the Chinese Chang'e 5 mission picked up two kilograms of lunar samples to bring back, after more than 40 years a piece of the moon to Earth. In response, the US NASA has released contracts with four private companies worth $25,001 each for the collection of material on the moon, or for the transfer of property rights between private company and NASA, which is not the contract of the century, but defines arguably the precedent of the century.
Despite these significant steps on the road to the exploitation of minerals in space, there is still considerable legal uncertainty as to whether and under what conditions it is international law, it is possible to mine in space. The following text responds to this uncertainty and presents an innovative legal and policy approach that is consistent with the strategic interest of the Czech Republic and which aims to strengthen the multilateral international order and support its own industry in the spirit of the innovation strategy and by betting on key breakthrough technologies.
Our proposal has the potential to make the Czech Republic position the Czech Republic as a major international standard setter on the current agenda in a very simple way