Analysis Of Exploitation Over Natural Resources In Outer Space On The Perspective Of International Law

With regard to the exploitation of natural resources in outer space, there is no specificprovision in international space law. Existing provisions are mostly principles or ambiguous,while the international community is paying highly attention to the exploitation of naturalresources in outer space. During recent year, several U.S. private entities have begun todevelop business plans for exploiting natural resources in outer space, especially onasteroids. Comparing with commercial remote sensing and commercial launch, commercialexploitation of natural resources in outer space is such kind of commercial space activitythat seems non-traditional, which will lead to issues on the level of municipal law and eveninternational law. On one hand, is the existing regime of international space law sufficientto adjust the exploitation of natural resources in outer space? On the other, if not, howshould international space law be developed and perfected concerning this issue?This paper elaborate aspects as follows: the definition and legal nature of the naturalresources in outer space, outer space, the main subject of the exploitation of naturalresources in outer space, the relationship between exploitation of natural resources in outerspace and the principle of free exploration and use and the principle of non-appropriationunder international space law, the construction of an international regime over theexploitation of natural resources in outer space, the enlightenment of the regime and currentsituation for China, etc. Last but not least, this paper presents legal recommendations on thelevel of strategic construction and specific measures.The conversion of immovables into movables through exploitation and extraction ispermitted under the non-appropriation principle of Outer Space Treaty, a distinction beingdrawn between the appropriation of outer space and the appropriation of celestial bodiesand materials thereon. Under the Outer Space Treaty regime, private actors are entitled toexplore and exploit the natural resources of the moon, i.e. enterprise rights, lacking feesimple ownership over the land thereof.Ownership of extraterrestrial materials vests in those who supported their removal, viathe labor invested in extracting. As an attribute of property rights, the right tocommercialize extraterrestrial material has become customary norms of international law.United States has explicitly qualified samples from Apollo mission as property, whereasmaterial extracted by Soviet probes has lawfully entered free market under domestic law. Although the Moon Agreement is far from being generally accepted, it did codify some ofthe customary law developed after the Apollo and Luna missions. Given its lesserliberalism as a whole, it results a fortiori that what is allowed by international documentsmust be permitted also by Outer Space Treaty. The Moon Agreement clarifies thedistinction between material and territory in the matter of non-appropriation, permittingownership of extracted resources, the collection of scientific samples and that of materialsfor in-situ support of missions. The agreement imposes no moratorium on the exploitationof lunar resources pending the establishment of an international regime.While outside the material jurisdiction of international space law, domestic law is farfrom being homogenous, with regard to property rights over meteorites. The existence ofcontrasting regimes reflects both the lack of uniformity in approaching property rightsthroughout international community, and the difficulty in finding a world-wide acceptablesolution to the issue of ownership concerning extraterrestrial sample and mineral resources.To ensure the orderly exploitation of natural resources in outer space, it is necessary toestablish an appropriate international regime. There are three ways to establish aninternational regime of outer space natural resources exploitation: entering intointernational agreement, signing the Moon Agreement and amending its content,developing new international treaties for business activities in outer space. Under currentsituation, it is the most feasible and practical to enter into international agreements andcarry out international cooperation activities to exploit natural resources in outer spaceresources. State Parties would be granted rights, obligations and responsibilities as well asdispute resolution measures to ensure the orderly, safe, fair, reasonable and efficientexploitation of natural resources in outer space.Regarding the exploitation of natural resources in outer space, China should poseactive responses from perspectives of strategy, technology, policy and legal framework.This is the need for China’s development of active outer space strategy and China’srequirement of a beneficial international environment. Based on the need of strategicconstraints, China may consider a strict interpretation of existing international space lawrules, creating an international environment for discouraging the exploitation of naturalresources in outer space to restrain U.S. on domestic law encouraging the participation ofprivate sector in the exploitation. Integrating space programs, China should develop anoverall strategy with regard to the exploitation of outer space resources, namely thecontainment strategy on the international level and the promotion strategy on the national level. Meanwhile, China should actively participate in international negotiations anddiscussions concerning related issues, and should develop special arrangements in terms ofpolicy, legislation, administration and fundamental research.