And Donald Trump promises Americans the Moon

The recent issuance of an executive order by US President Donald Trump authorising private, commercial uses of the Moon, Mars, meteors and other space bodies is a violation of the accepted idea that outer space and the objects in it are global commons. The order has viewed all space bodies as “off-earth resources’’ which are to be used and exploited. The Trump administration will look at the possibility of "large-scale economic development of space", including private lunar landers staking out de facto 'property rights' for Americans on the moon. US companies and individuals will be granted these rights, which they can use for developing the land or for other purposes. The moon and other heavenly bodies will now be pieces of real estate and mining grants, and a President who was a properly developer would not find anything wrong in it.

This militates against the idea that space, including planetary systems, the oceans, the atmosphere and even certain areas of science like genetic knowledge are global commons. The accepted view is that they belong to everyone and should benefit mankind collectively. There have been attempts to create a legal framework for this, though the laws need to be developed further. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, signed by over 100 countries, laid down that space exploration should be for the benefit of humanity. The 1979 Moon Agreement specifically declared that the surface, sub-surface and resources of the moon shall not be treated as private property. The US, like other space powers, has not signed the treaty. India has signed it but has not ratified it. It has been observed that the treaty is very inadequate though it was formulated under the auspices of the UN and tried to create an international framework of laws to guide the use of outer space resources.

President Trump’s order clearly says that "the United States does not view outer space as a global commons" and describes the Moon Agreement as a "failed attempt at constraining free enterprise’’. The order was signed when the world and the US are busy fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. It can lead to competition among space powers to establish their own proprietary regions or sovereign patches on the Moon or Mars or other space bodies. That can also lead to a free-for-all with even private companies setting themselves up in space and claiming ownership of resources. A new colonialism may be emerging, with unknown consequences.