President Donald Trump on April 6 signed a new national space policy directive reaffirming U.S. commitment to the commercial use of resources in space and encouraging international support for the policy.
The directive follows NASA’s release last week of its plan for sustained activities on the lunar surface, which includes the use of resources on the Moon for exploration and commercial endeavors. A pair of international conferences to further discuss deep space exploration collaborations were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, prompting the White House to proceed with the release of the policy statement.
The directive, titled “Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources,” affirms interpretations of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that support recovery and use of resources in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, by commercial entities as well as governments.
In so doing, the directive repudiates the controversial follow-on 1979 Moon Treaty, which establishes a more restrictive framework for the exploitation of space resources.
“Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law,” the order states. “Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons.
“Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law,” the order states.
The intent of the order is to help create a stable and predictable investment environment for commercial space endeavors as the U.S. space program looks to expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit with crewed landings on the Moon and eventual missions to Mars.
“This executive order establishes U.S. policy toward the recovery and use of space resources, such as water and certain minerals, in order to encourage the commercial development of space,” Scott Pace, executive secretary of the National Space Council, said in a statement.
The order calls for the secretary of state to “take all appropriate actions to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space.”
“The U.S. intends to begin negotiations for joint statements, bilateral and multilateral agreements, and other instruments regarding a safe and sustainable use of space resources with like-minded states,” it added.
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