You’re probably wondering what a headline like that is doing on a science blog like this. Space piracy is firmly the stuff of science fiction – or is it? The final frontier is opening up for business, and bringing with it a whole new set of morally questionable opportunities.
Asteroid mining, while sounding just as far-fetched as space piracy, is actually a serious scientific and economic suggestion – and in fact, it’s already happened. Both the Stardust (USA) and Hayabusa (Japan) missions have extracted samples from space rocks, and returned them to Earth for scientific analysis.
Having proven that we can successfully do this, it was only a matter of time before companies expressed interest in mining space for more commercial reasons. This idea gained widespread attention in the early 2010s, with the launch of start-ups such as Planetary Resources. This initial hype has died, but paved the way for serious discussions and plans for asteroid mining operations.
This is all well and good if you’re a legitimate business or government, but where does the piracy come in? And more importantly, how can you avoid getting punished?
In the 1700s, pirates roamed the seas, taking all they fancied from those unlucky enough to run foul of their ships. Privateers occupied virtually the same environment, with one key difference – they weren’t considered outlaws. Granted licences by their empires, they were free to pillage and plunder to their hearts’ content, with only a fraction of the risk of being attacked.
The lesson is simple – piracy is safer when it’s legal.
While you won’t be able to find a government willing to licence your piracy – at least not yet – this may not be necessary. Space law is still really poorly defined, and we can exploit that.
Nobody owns space. More importantly, according to the Outer Space Treaty (to use its condensed name), “outer space… is not subject to national appropriation… by any means”. While the implications of this for business are unclear (despite the existence of space real estate brokers, it is widely agreed that private property must fall within a nation’s jurisdiction), we can assume that no celestial body can be considered anyone’s property. So, for starters, we don’t have to worry about getting prosecuted for trespassing.
However, this is where things get complicated.
Generally, mineral resources belong to the nation that owns the territory. While not all of Earth’s surface is claimed, no commercial mines operate in the areas that aren’t. So who owns space rock?
Apparently, everyone.
The Moon Agreement declares that the “use of the moon [and all other celestial bodies] shall be the province of all mankind”. Theoretically, so long as it benefits everyone, it’s fair game. However, what constitutes a universal benefit? For example, it could be argued, quite successfully in my opinion, that cheap batteries are a good thing for everyone – just ignore the massive profit being made by whoever mined the nickel from asteroids.
But how can someone sell what ostensibly belongs to everyone? Turns out, once you get it back to Earth, it’s yours to do with whatever you want. This precedent has already been set by, among other examples, Soviet-collected samples of moon rock that have since gone to auction.
All this combines to form an interesting dynamic – when is space rock free game, and when is it privately-owned? My research into this question has returned with a resounding “???”. There is no legally defined point at which a mineral is defined as becoming someone’s property.
This grey area is a perfect target for space piracy. Let someone do the mining, but before they can bring it back to Earth, you swoop in and take it from them. Anything they brought from Earth remains legally their property (and responsibility if something goes wrong), but anything originating in space is yours to claim. Bring it back home, and reap your reward.
If this plan sounds immoral, it likely is. But, so far as the law currently stands, it’s perfectly legal. All that remains is for someone to exploit it and fulfil their dreams of being a space pirate.
Or we could be sensible and, you know, fix these loopholes and define ownership before we start mining asteroids. Just a thought.
[The author is not trained in any form of law and accepts no responsibility for any consequences, legal or otherwise, that result from following the guidance contained in this text.]
Lachlan Writes Science 