President Donald Trump’s negotiating skills are simply out of this world. He could even be known as “the man who mined the moon” in future histories. Taking the “art of the deal” to revolutionary new heights, Trump is brokering an agreement which could go down in history. How’s that for a legacy?
Moon mining under the ‘Artemis Accords’
President Trump’s administration is busy working on what Reuters calls “a legal blueprint for mining on the moon.” Sponsored by the United States, the Artemis Accords would be an international agreement.
There is an existing “international space law” which everyone on the home planet considers woefully outdated. President Trump’s Artemis Accords, named to match NASA’s new Artemis program, would set up a network of “safety zones” surrounding potential bases “to prevent damage or interference from rival countries or companies operating in close proximity.”
NASA intends to have a foothold on our satellite neighbor within the next decade, which will require lots of construction. It’s time to turn the civilians loose in outer space. What, so far, is only an American dream, is well on its way to becoming a formal international pact. For now, its still in the draft stages.
Nobody can own the moon
Under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, “celestial bodies and the moon are ‘not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.'” That means no property rights for anybody.
In order to turn that dream into a reality, the proposed arrangement would “provide a framework under international law for companies to own the resources they mine.” Anything that can be scrounged from the lunar crust is a whole lot cheaper than if it has to be shipped up from Earth.
This arrangement sidesteps the “territory” issue. “This isn’t some territorial claim,” a government source notes. It allows “coordination between space actors without technically claiming territory as sovereign.” The basic idea, he explains, “is if you are going to be coming near someone’s operations, and they’ve declared safety zones around it, then you need to reach out to them in advance, consult and figure out how you can do that safely for everyone.”
Something for everyone
All of the spacefaring nations consider Luna to be “a key strategic asset in outer space.” Not only does it have a gravity advantage, in more ways than most people could ever imagine, “the moon also has value for long-term scientific research.” The lunar surface has long been considered a necessary stepping stone toward the even bolder goal of colonizing Mars.
Over the next few weeks, our officials will be meeting with their counterparts in Canada, Japan, Europe, even the United Arab Emirates. They all have a stake in the outcome and “like-minded” lunar mining interests.
Russia won’t be invited to the party though. The Kremlin has been acting sneaky lately. Even though they are already a partner in our International Space Station, they won’t be in the Artemis accord club yet. The Pentagon is still mad about their “threatening” satellite maneuvers which seem like they’re stalking our equipment in space.
There won’t be any UN time wasting
President Trump’s administration isn’t wasting their time at the United Nations with this one. Instead, they decided to strike a deal with “like-minded nations.” With only a handful of governments with the resources to get to the moon, there’s no need to appease every little banana republic in the UN.
Another plus for the deal is that it’s a civilian, not a military venture. It showcases “NASA’s growing role as a tool of American diplomacy.” That’s expected to cheese China off royally.
“The important thing is, countries all around the world want to be a part of this. That’s the element of national power,” NASA’s Jim Bridenstine said, adding that participation in the Artemis program is contingent on countries adhering to “norms of behavior that we expect to see” in space.
