Proponents of mining in space often point to the potential benefits for Earth and its people. But this research casts doubt on many of them.
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Articles on Space mining
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There’s a lot of technological progress required before off-Earth mining operations can be considered feasible.
Several current programs aim at sending humans back to the Moon. What would be the purpose, and what are the real prospects?
Space mining might be closer than you think. But legal issues about the ownership of space resources must be urgently addressed to avoid space wars over natural resources.
Some nations are concerned the Artemis Accords represent a US power grab.
When it comes to managing the tussle for resources on the Moon, we might take lessons from New Zealand environmental law and TikTok ‘witches’.
Governments and corporations must get serious about the legal, technical, economic, social and ethical implications of a potential space-based resource economy.
The opportunities in space are limitless. But without a sustainable approach to the space industry, our ability to exploit them won’t be.
Tourism, mining and new settlements are possibilities for our Moon. But what rules and regulations should govern our behavior there?
This year the Apollo 11 mission turns 50 - but what does the future hold for the Moon? The ephemeral shadows cast by human artefacts may soon be joined by more permanent scars of lunar mining.
No country can lay claim to sovereignty over a planet, moon or rocky body. But in the absence of clear laws regulating mining in space, it’s a case of first in, best dressed for resource extraction.
Why carry building materials from Earth into space, when we can build structures by 3D printing using materials found out there?
Space mining could generate a massive resources boom. Here’s a way to make sure the benefits of that boom reach everyone on the planet.
We’re on the cusp of being able to consistently launch and land rockets, greatly reducing the cost of space travel. But how long before there’s a Millennium Falcon in every garage?
No one nation should be allowed to go it alone and develop a mining industry in space. It needs an international effort and Australia, with a long history in mining, can play its part.
If we’re going to mine asteroids, then we need an international treaty to prevent it becoming a wild west. Thankfully we can look to Antarctica to see how such a treaty might work.
Mining in space is no longer science fiction. But could it end wars over resources, as Neil deGrasse Tyson has suggested?
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in Archaeology and Space Studies, Flinders University
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Emeritus Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University
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Senior Research Associate, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, School of Humanities and Communication Arts & Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
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Associate Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
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Lecturer, University of Adelaide
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Associate Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
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Casual academic, UNSW Sydney
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Off Earth Mining, Future Mining, Mining Systems, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Fellow, Université Paris Cité
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Cassels Brock Fellow and Assistant Professor of Mining and Finance Law (Western Law); Faculty Member of the Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (Western Space), Western University
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Professor of Space Law and Policy, Northumbria University, Newcastle
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Senior lecturer of health promotion, Swinburne University of Technology
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PhD candidate, School of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Sydney
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Professeur de physique - Physics professor, Université Paris Cité
