Asteroidal Mineral Rights

[Rhyshaelkan]

Taken from Eros Wikipedia page
"Legal controversy

In an experimental legal case, Eros was claimed as property by Gregory W. Nemitz of OrbDev. According to the Homestead principle, Nemitz argued that he had the right to claim ownership of any celestial body that he made use of; he claimed he had designated Eros a spacecraft parking facility and wished to charge NASA a parking and storage fee of twenty cents per year for NEAR Shoemaker. Nemitz's case was dismissed and an appeal denied.[11]"


HAHAHahahahaAHYAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA
/me dies
/me gets better
HAHAHAHAhahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

too rich.

Honestly I do believe "mineral rights will go to those that have the wherewithal to exploit said minerals" first come first serve. Then the shooting will begin.

Which gives me cause to wonder why you would want to tow an asteroid to a location that might give other "pirate" groups an opportunity to exploit your hard efforts. Eros is big enough so that separate teams could be working multiple locations.

It will depend on who has the better legal counsel or bigger guns who will claim extra-terrestrial "rights".

[Phenix]

That's sounds like California Gold: The Beginning of Mining in the Far West :). It is a good book though.

Lets be serious, Space business development requires most advance technologies and industrial expertise that cannot be handled all together by an individual. And the case far too dangerous for Humanity.

I would believe that a global nations community will strive the path for those regulations on fair economy like for example : mining concessions leases. We'll see...

[Rhyshaelkan]

With mankind's history. I am not so optimistic.

[joertexas]

With mankind's history. I am not so optimistic.

To quote the Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest: "He who gets there firstest with the mostest - wins."

JR

[Rhyshaelkan]

Here are a couple snippets from this article.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_resources_031114.html

"Legal landscape

The greatest need -- to prepare not only for Moon mining, but also digging out resources from Mars -- is not for technological breakthroughs. Rather, it is for information and clarification.

That’s the belief of Leslie Gertsch, Assistant Professor of Geological Engineering at the Rock Mechanics & Explosives Research Center at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

It is obvious that fundamental differences exist between the working conditions on Earth contrasted to the Moon and Mars, Gertsch said. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget the know-how gained by humans after more than 10 millennia of extracting natural resources on our own planet, she noted.

First of all, Gertsch said, the legal landscape for extraterrestrial resource ownership and extraction must be clarified. Additionally, there needs to be detailed feedstock specifications for products that could be made using off-Earth materials. Obtaining more, and higher resolution data on prospective deposits needed for space mining -- using both orbiters and landers -- is critical too. Lastly, achieving and maintaining the link to the Moon and Mars is key, she said.

Extraterrestrial mining is sure to involve interactions that won't be discovered until on-the-spot work takes place, Gertsch said. The effects of gravity, vacuum, even how particles act when put in a pile or fed through processing machinery…these and other factors need to be considered in moving space mining into high gear, she said.

Terrestrial mining and milling are not designed for use on the Moon or Mars, Gertsch said. "They are doable, but at the cost of being terribly inefficient. Modifying these processes to bring their efficiency up to commercial levels will be non-trivial, but it's not necessary to achieve perfection beforehand," she reported.

"We need to get out there and try these things out," Gertsch advised."

"Master of the space domain

A relatively new legal concept, "telepossession", was detailed at the Space Resources Roundtable.

Richard Westfall, head of Galactic Mining Industries, Inc. of Denver, Colorado, suggested that telepossession can be used to establish title to asteroids accessible from Earth orbit.

The notion is to use robot emissaries to perform tasks that a hands-on asteroid miner could do at a remote site. That includes gaining legal domain over a property and establishing a form of legal possession of the mini-world. Here on Earth, this legal model has been applied to maritime salvage of a shipwreck using underwater telerobots.

Westfall proposed creation and use of Telepossession Probes: A lander and a relay spacecraft.

Rendezvousing with an asteroid in space, the lander performs the tasks of assaying the space rock, drilling, and turning out a product. All these lander activities are sent to the relay spacecraft. This relay craft not only oversees the asteroid's position and condition 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but also collects assay data and transmits this information to Earth operators.

No doubt the idea of gaining some sort of legal footing on an asteroid via robots is sure to spark legal beagle-type debates.

"Part of the education process in the international legal community is to educate people that resources in outer space are virtually unlimited," noted Wayne White Jr., a space law consultant in Huntsville, Alabama. "There's more than enough for everyone," he said.

"We must look at the great frontier of space as the next place to get our large injection of resources," Westfall said. "I admit that we might be opening a can of worms. But you've got to have worms to catch fish," he said."