Luxembourg is stepping up efforts to achieve its聽 by , in charge of laying the foundations for exploiting extra-terrestrial resources.
In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), Luxembourg aims to make the centre an internationally recognized entity of expertise for scientific, technical, business and economic aspects related to the use of space resources, including water on the moon, and metals and minerals in asteroids.
The centre, based in Luxembourg, is also expected to contribute to economic growth by supporting commercial initiatives and start-ups, offering a business incubation component and enabling technology transfer between space and non-space industries.
ESRIC will focus on laying the foundations for exploiting extra-terrestrial resources and promoting technology transfer between space and non-space industries
The tiny European nation is one of the euro zone鈥檚 wealthiest countries and already has a long-standing space industry, playing a significant role in the development of satellite communications.
While its聽drive to become a significant actor in the asteroid mining industry is only four years old, the country has already taken major steps towards achieving that goal.
In June 2016, Luxembourg agreed to buy a major stake in US-based asteroid miner聽Planetary Resources.
The country also announced the opening聽of a聽鈧�200 million ($225 million) line of credit for entrepreneurial space companies to set up their European headquarters within its borders.
Previously, the government had reached an聽, Deep Space Industries, to send missions to prospect for water and minerals in outer space. Both parties are currently developing Prospector-X, a聽small and experimental spacecraft聽that tests technologies for prospecting and mining near-Earth asteroids聽from 2021.
Luxembourg hasn鈥檛 stopped there. In 2018, 聽to boost exploration and commercial utilization of resources from Near Earth Objects.
Legal frame
Luxembourg鈥檚 administration has also聽set up a legal frame聽for exploiting space resources. The law, passed in 2017, says private companies can be entitled to the resources they mine in outer space, but they can鈥檛 own celestial bodies.
The only international legal body available until then dated back to 1967. The聽, signed by the US, Russia and a number of other countries, says that nations can鈥檛 occupy nor own territory in space.
鈥淥uter space shall be free for exploration and use by all States,鈥� the treaty says, adding that 鈥渙uter space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.鈥�
The United States has also been working on setting its own rules. Former President Barack Obama聽聽mined in space.
The ground-breaking rule was touted as a major boost to asteroid mining because it encouraged the commercial exploration and utilization聽of resources from asteroids obtained by US firms.
Such law included a very important clause, clarifying that US citizens were not granted 鈥渟overeignty or sovereign or exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or the ownership of, any celestial body.鈥�
Order to mine
President Donald Trump聽signed an order in April聽encouraging citizens to mine the Moon, stars and other planets with commercial purposes.
The directive classifies outer space as a 鈥渓egally and physically unique domain of human activity鈥� instead of a 鈥済lobal commons,鈥澛爌aving the way for mining the moon without聽any sort of international treaty.
鈥淎mericans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space,鈥� the document states, noting that the US had never signed a 1979 accord known as the Moon Treaty. This agreement stipulates that any activities in space should conform to international law.
Russia鈥檚 space agency Roscosmos聽quickly condemned Trump鈥檚 move, likening it to colonialism.
鈥淭here have already been examples in history when one country decided to start seizing territories in its interest 鈥� everyone remembers what came of it,鈥� Roscosmos鈥� deputy general director for international cooperation, Sergey Saveliev, said in May.
Russia has been pursuing plans in recent years聽to return to the moon, potentially travelling further into outer space.
The government聽聽it planned to establish a long-term base on the moon over the next two decades, while President Vladimir Putin has聽聽to launch a mission to Mars 鈥渧ery soon.鈥�
NASA鈥檚 global legal framework for mining on the moon, called the Artemis Accords, would be the latest effort to attract allies to the agency鈥檚 plan to place humans and space stations on the celestial body within the next decade.
It also lines-up with several聽public and private initiatives聽to fulfill the goal of聽extracting resources from asteroids, the moon and聽even other planets.
Trump has taken a consistent interest in asserting American power beyond Earth,聽聽last year to conduct space warfare.
NASA recently put out a call soliciting bids from explorers anywhere on Earth who are willing to finance their own trips to the moon and collect soil or rock samples without actually returning the material to earth. The effort is meant to set a legal precedent for mining on the lunar surface that would allow NASA to one day collect materials useful to colonies on the moon and, eventually, other planets.
The agency hopes to start聽mining the Moon聽as early as 2025, especially after finding evidence that the Earth鈥檚 natural satellite may, underneath its surface, be richer in metals than previously thought.
On Wednesday, NASA launched yet another initiative to boost exploration on the moon 鈥� .
The contest calls on people with ideas and approaches for a system architecture capable of excavating and moving icy regolith and water at the lunar South Pole.聽
The entries will compete for a portion of the $500,000 prize in Phase 1 and $4.5 million in the second phase.
Geologists have long highlighted the mineral value of asteroids. They say the bodies are packed with iron ore, nickel and precious metals at much higher concentrations than those found on earth, making up a market valued聽.