I’m all for incentivizing the exploration of space as long as its done with sane regulations, though it is strange that the United States has unilaterally privatized asteroids and the like, making it finders keepers for American corporations that lay claim to pieces of the final frontier. Granted, trying to get the whole world on the same page for global guidelines would be difficult, but certainly some wider agreement would be helpful since we’re not likely to be the only nation pioneering out there. Hopefully this solitary move will force a worldwide discussion that results in a broader consensus.

From K.G Orphanides at Wired U.K.:

The United States Senate has passed the Space Act of 2015, which includes a range of legislative changes intended to boost the US space industry.

Perhaps the most significant part are measures allowing US citizens to engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of “space resources,” with examples including includes water and minerals. The right to exploit resources covers anything in space that isn’t alive – so if a commercial exploration team discovers microbial life, they can’t exploit it for profit.

For the purposes of this bill a “citizen of the United States” is defined as “(A) an individual who is a citizen of the United States”, “(B) an entity organized or existing under the laws of the United States or a State” or “an entity organized or existing under the laws of a foreign country if the controlling interest (as defined by the Secretary of Transportation) is held by an individual or entity described in subclause (A) or (B) of this clause”.

That means not only individuals but also corporations, including those that are not wholly US owned, qualify as US citizens for the purpose of mineral exploitation in space. For example, Richard Branson is a British citizen, but he’s an investor in Planetary Resources, a self-described “asteroid mining company” that has been heavily involved in lobbying in favor of the Space Act. As a result, he’s likely to be one of the first British people to profit from US commercial asteroid mining.•