Study On The International Legal Issues Of The Exploitation Of Natural Resources In Outer Space

Outer space is rich in natural resources.With the continual prominence and limitation of the Earth's resources,the exploitation of natural resources in outer space can provide choices for mankind to seek new ways of resources.With the development of outer space activities,there is a new upsurge of celestial exploration in the world,and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space has become a new goal of major space countries.As one of the forms for mankind to develop and utilize outer space,the exploitation of natural resources in outer space should follow current international legal norms.However,as an emerging field of space activities,there is no specific guideline of international legal norms governing the exploitation of natural resources in outer space.As human beings turn their attention to the emerging field of natural resources in outer space,some international legal issues have also started to be discussed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.The United States and Luxembourg have successively passed special acts to stipulate the natural resources of outer space,the controversy over whether the relevant legislation of the two countries runs counter to the existing international law further reflects the fact that current international law does not completely and effectively guide the exploitation of natural resources in outer space.Therefore,the issues concerning international law need to be further sorted out and analyzed,and how the international legal system for the exploitation of natural resources will be constructed and perfected deserves further discussion.This paper consists of four parts.In the first part,the related concept and current situation of exploitation of the natural resources in outer space are reviewed and introduced,and the legal issues that may be involved in those activities are also included.The definition of outer space is still inconclusive in the international community,and the dispute point is the delimitation of the outer boundary of outer space.The content of outer space is broad,and the natural resources of outer space that this paper discusses are physical resources in celestial body in outer space.It has been more than sixty years since the first human activities in outer space,the development and utilization of outer space has undergone a period of process.As an emerging field of outer space activities,natural resources exploitation has been gradually feasible and will become a reality in the near future.However,the exploitation of natural resources in outer space is not merely a scientific issue,which involves some legal issues and needs the attention of the international community.The second part sorts out the relevant legal norms for the exploitation of natural resources in outer space,mainly from two levels of international law and domestic law,in which the outer space treaty and the moon agreement are introduced.On the basis of sorting out the relevant legal norms,the third part,as the focus of discussion,analyzes the legal issues involved in the exploitation of natural resources,including the legal status of natural resources in outer space,legality of exploitation activities,the participates in the exploitation activities,the principles exploitation activities need to follow and the mechanisms to guide exploitation activities.The legal system for exploitation of natural resources in outer space needs to be improved,so the fourth part puts forward the idea of the future for the exploitation of the natural resources in outer space,which involves the establishment of complete legal norms and scientific international mechanisms.It is believed that through continuous efforts at all levels of the international community,discussions on the legal issues of the exploitation of natural resources in outer space will be deepened and the legal difficulties in this field will be gradually solved.The international community will eventually establish a comprehensive international legal system to regulate and guide the exploitation of natural resources in outer space and those exploitation activities in outer space will truly benefit humankind.