LEGALITY OF MOON MINING: AN ECO FRIEND OR ECO-ENEMYByOmotosho Oluwadamilola Marvellous and Osadugba Marvellous Ajijolajesu

ABSTRACT

There is no doubt that any long-term lunar mission will need to adopt ISRU to exploit lunar resources. The moon is actually an excellent source of building materials, water, fuel, oxygen, and other useful resources, but some of these are highly localised, while others need to be processed before they can be used. While lunar regolith suitable for construction is found all over the surface, ice that can be used to produce fuel, oxygen, and liquid water is only found in permanent shade, such as in craters or at the poles. Some survey work has been done by orbiters and surface rovers, as well as experiments on Earth, but we still don't know how ISRU will work in practice. There are so many resources like ice on the moon that could support thriving moon bases for decades and allow for the development of a lucrative lunar economy. Furthermore, helium-3 is a moon resource that is scarce on Earth but abundant on the lunar surface and may be cheaper to mine from the moon. Helium-3 is a very attractive fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors. China, Russia, and India have all expressed interest in sourcing lunar helium-3 for use on Earth. This would require some serious innovation in mining industry technology to develop suitable remote techniques, not to mention the development of economically viable fusion reactors, but the return on investment would be massive if a commercial Helium-3 reactor were ever built. One of the goals of near-future moon missions may well be to map Helium-3 deposits for future mining and exploitation. With a kilogram of Helium-3 expected to fetch $3,000,000, the profits could be incredibly lucrative.

According to research conducted using NASA data, the Moon could harbour more metals than had previously been believed beneath its surface. The new revelations about the Moon’s geological composition may affect theories as to the celestial body’s origin, but the news will also pique the interest of aspiring moon miners. The US government has recently floated the idea of mining the moon, but what does this new development mean for a lunar gold rush?

 

INTRODUCTION

International law was rocked by the introduction of the Artemis Accords, an agreement that allows mining on the Moon in support of scientific missions.Richer nations stand to gain the most from access to space, with a recent international agreement allowing them to lawfully mine the Moon and other objects in space in support of scientific missions.

The United States announced a plan to return humans to the Moon in 2020, half a century after the Apollo missions. Named after the twin sister of Apollo, the Artemis plan aims to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and a lunar orbiting station called the Gateway. The Artemis missions on the Moon will serve as a testing ground for the first human missions to Mars and beyond, effectively marking a new era in human spaceflight. To ensure the sustainability of long-term human missions, the Artemis plan envisions the use of space resources. For example, mining the rocks and soil of the Moon for oxygen and hydrogen. The combination of oxygen and hydrogen can serve as both drinking water and a radiation shield for the lunar camp. Oxygen and hydrogen are also the basic elements of propellant, which is essential for space travel.

The Artemis plan clarifies the legal basis for using space resources in support of the Artemis missions in an agreement called the Artemis Accords. Legally speaking, the Accords are not a treaty; they do not create binding obligations under international law. They only apply to the United States and the other countries that intend to take part in the Artemis missions. However, the Artemis Accords have legal significance. They are presented as implementing the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty. As such, they represent a blueprint of conduct that other nations may follow for their own purposes.

Furthermore, some provisions in the Artemis Accords add detail and interpretation to the Outer Space Treaty. This is where the issue of fairness comes into play.The Artemis Accords clarify that the extraction of space resources does not inherently constitute national appropriation, provided that contracts and other legal instruments relating to space resources should be consistent with the [Outer Space] Treaty.In other words, nations mining the resources of the Moon do not acquire any property rights over those resources; they do not own them. However, in this sense, the Artemis Accords remain within the Outer Space Treaty's provision on national appropriation. In practice, the absence of any regulatory framework determining who has access to space resources and under what circumstances means the Artemis Accords support the use of space resources on a first come, first served basis.

As a result, states with the financial and technological means to get there first will gain the most. Less developed or emerging spacefaring states will not profit from space resource utilisation, at least not directly.Another provision of the Artemis Accords, adding detail to the text of the Outer Space Treaty, requires nations conducting activities on the Moon to create a "safe zone" to avoid harmful interference with the activities of other nations. A safety zone is a temporary exclusion zone of limited size. The Outer Space Treaty does not mention safety zones. It only requires nations to conduct their activities in outer space with due regard to others operating in space. But, it is noteworthy that the Artemis Accords also introduce new concepts. For example, Section 9 provides:

 "The Signatories intend to preserve outer space heritage, which they consider to comprise historically significant human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity on celestial bodies in accordance with mutually developed standards and practices.

The Signatories intend to use their experience under the Accords to contribute to multilateral efforts to further develop international practices and rules applicable to preserving outer space heritage. "

The above aims at preserving outer space heritage through the creation of a safety zone. While protection of historic sites on Earth is uncontroversial, determining an historic site in outer space has no precedent.

However, if a nation unilaterally declared an area of the moon a place of historic value, it could violate the principle of non-appropriation. For example, the United States may declare the Apollo 11 landing site and Neil Armstrong's boot prints a site of historic value and create a safety zone around them. Such action could amount to a de facto appropriation of an area of the moon. The Artemis Accords appear to anticipate this pitfall by requiring nations to engage in multilateral efforts to develop rules aimed at preserving outer space heritage.

Recently, one way international law develops and evolves is through practices that become so ingrained that states consider them to have the value of law. As of April 2022, 18 countries have signed the Artemis Accords. Many signed the 1979 Moon Agreement, the least ratified of the outer space treaties. If the number of nations supporting the Artemis Accords keeps increasing, it will create a widely shared standard of conduct. A growing number of nations relying on the Artemis Accords to carry out space activities will reinforce the belief that they are the applicable law for space mining, safety zones, and heritage protection.

 

To avoid future controversies, the Artemis Accords are not international law, but they have the potential to become the next customary practice in international law. 

 

ARE YOU ECO-FRIENDLY OR ECO-HOSTILE?

Positive impact: the moon metals include scandium, yttrium, and others, which could be used in vehicle engines, to make glass or ceramics, electronic devices, radar systems, superconductors, and more. Even rarer is helium-3, a gas that could be used as a clean and powerful fuel for fusion reactions. To acquire and control a strong supply of rare earth metals. It creates new business opportunities for technological innovation and the application and utilization of new resources. It is an important source of resources such as building materials, oxygen, water, fuel, etc. c

Negative impact: it's highly abrasive, so it wears down surfaces and damages seals. It's dark and clingy, so it coats anything that's taken outside, and it's toxic as well, posing a health hazard to any astronaut who inhales quantities of the stuff. "The dust is one of the greatest unsolved problems in returning to the moon".

However, Section 10(1) provides:

"The Signatories note that the utilization of space resources can benefit humankind by providing critical support for safe and sustainable operations."

That’s to say, the benefit of moon mining can’t be overemphasized because the dangers exposed aren’t much, especially as to the ecological system of Man. The mass of the moon is around 7.351022 kg. If the moon were to be mined, with all countries of the world combining their efforts and taking from the moon's surface at the same rate, they could mine it today on Earth and send that made somewhere else. It would take in the order of 10TM6 years (a million years) to reduce the mass of the moon by 0.01%.

I think we would be safe for a long while, at least where the stability of the Earth-moon system is concerned.

CONCLUSION

The bigger concern is environmental damage from the impact of future generations and the importance of the Moon in human culture and heritage. Visual impact of the Earth So far, so good. It is also gathered that too much activity on the moon could cause unexpected tides that may be dangerous to humans. Although, for now, many dangers aren’t exposed to the environment, it can’t be said that by 2080. To prevent unexpected dangers, regulations and strict adherence must be put in place to avoid many industrial activities on the moon.

 

REFERENCE

-       :press trust of india, 'Moon-mining gains legality;' (:Press Trust Of India, Apr 11 , 2022) <https://. Republicworld.com> accessed 25 April 2022

-Zachary Skidmore, 'Lunar gold Rush' (MINING TECHNOLOGY, 2020) <https://www.mining.technology.com> accessed 25 April 2022

     - Wikipedia

 

About us

@ OMOTOSHO DAMILOLA MARVELLOUS

A noble student of the prestigious Faculty of law ,Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo state. He is a Fervid article writer on Law encompassing Scientific fields, for instance SPACE LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ELECTRICITY LAW, ENERGY LAW AND SO ON He can be reached via omotoshomarvellous57@gmail.com

 

@ OSADUGBA MARVELLOUS AJIJOLAJESU

A noble student of the prestigious Faculty of law ,Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo state , she is a Fervid article writer on Law encompassing Scientific fields ,for instance SPACE LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ELECTRICITY LAW, ENERGY LAW AND SO ON!She can be reached via osadugbamarvellous31@hotmail.com