Defining the notion of mining, extraction and collection: A step toward a sustainable use of lunar resources
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In: Acta Astronautica, Vol. 201, 01.12.2022, p. 592-596.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Defining the notion of mining, extraction and collection
T2 - A step toward a sustainable use of lunar resources
AU - Wager, Zac J.S.
AU - Kuhn, Lukas
AU - Vertadier, Heloise
AU - Schingler, Jessy Kate
AU - Robinson, Chelsea
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 IAA
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - The use of lunar resources is the key to a lasting and sustainable settlement of humankind on the Moon. Numerous missions are currently underway to go to Earth's only natural satellite and start mining its resources. The goal of these missions is primarily scientific-focused and would allow the exploitation of regolith toward the goal of extracting water, allowing the Moon to be considered as an outpost for more distant missions. However, the technology to extract and make use of these resources on the Moon is currently limited to simply collecting lunar regolith. Questions of ownership, property and resource rights ripple out from this simple starting point: What is the definition of collection? Collection is often considered to be a synonym of mining when it comes to space resources. In that sense, mining is defined as being the extraction of valuable material which has an economic interest for the miner. As for extraction, it refers to activities that consist of withdrawing a resource from its natural environment. But those definitions were meant for resources located on Earth. Can the same be applied to lunar resources? Current missions do not plan on drilling and extracting lunar regolith per se, rather they may simply scoop lunar dust as they land. In that case, can it really be considered as collecting? The definition of these terms is of fundamental importance as they might shape the way we use space resources in the future. This paper aims to propose a definition of collection, extraction and mining while being mindful of the international space law and its interpretation.
AB - The use of lunar resources is the key to a lasting and sustainable settlement of humankind on the Moon. Numerous missions are currently underway to go to Earth's only natural satellite and start mining its resources. The goal of these missions is primarily scientific-focused and would allow the exploitation of regolith toward the goal of extracting water, allowing the Moon to be considered as an outpost for more distant missions. However, the technology to extract and make use of these resources on the Moon is currently limited to simply collecting lunar regolith. Questions of ownership, property and resource rights ripple out from this simple starting point: What is the definition of collection? Collection is often considered to be a synonym of mining when it comes to space resources. In that sense, mining is defined as being the extraction of valuable material which has an economic interest for the miner. As for extraction, it refers to activities that consist of withdrawing a resource from its natural environment. But those definitions were meant for resources located on Earth. Can the same be applied to lunar resources? Current missions do not plan on drilling and extracting lunar regolith per se, rather they may simply scoop lunar dust as they land. In that case, can it really be considered as collecting? The definition of these terms is of fundamental importance as they might shape the way we use space resources in the future. This paper aims to propose a definition of collection, extraction and mining while being mindful of the international space law and its interpretation.
KW - Appropriation
KW - Definition
KW - Extraction
KW - International law
KW - Lunar resources
KW - Mining
KW - Nasa
KW - Outer space
KW - Ownership
KW - Property
KW - Regolith
KW - Space law
KW - SRU
KW - Sustainable
KW - Environmental planning
KW - Biology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139859822&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/9e3371a9-6baa-3e40-a036-88708b6d547d/
U2 - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.09.037
DO - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.09.037
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85139859822
VL - 201
SP - 592
EP - 596
JO - Acta Astronautica
JF - Acta Astronautica
SN - 0094-5765
ER -