On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon, symbolizing the immense technological competition during the Cold War. By the end of 2022, the “Artemis 1” rocket launch test, as the first phase of the “Artemis – Return of Man to the Moon” program, marked a starting point for space resource exploration. It also initiated discussions on the possibility of forming a political, economic, commercial, and societal model in outer space, particularly by major space powers like the United States and China.
In this context, Pascal Leger, in a report published by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in May 2023, analyzes the global race for space resources and its challenges. He notes that the availability of large quantities of space mining resources and energy has raised strategic, legal, economic, technological, and environmental questions. Outer space has become a target for militarization, investment, and exploitation by many countries, with this race beyond Earth reflecting a parallel to the geopolitical competition on Earth.
Various Space Resources
Non-material resources in space include the orbits and available frequencies, which are allocated under the supervision of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The issue of orbits alone raises legal concerns, as they cannot be owned. The launch of each satellite requires prior permission from the ITU to use the targeted orbit. Managing these non-material resources could lead to potential tensions and conflicts, as priority is often given to economically and technologically advanced nations.
In addition to non-material resources, there are tangible potential energy resources in the form of solar power. Solar energy can be converted and transmitted to Earth to power energy grids, as demonstrated by the “SOLARIS” project launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), which assesses the technical feasibility and economic viability of contributing to Earth’s energy crisis. Other commercial activities in outer space, such as space tourism, have already begun.
Recent discoveries have also indicated the presence of vast amounts of water ice in large, permanently shadowed craters at the Moon’s poles. It is estimated that 60% of this ice is concentrated at the lunar South Pole in the form of small glass-like grains. Furthermore, lunar regolith (the Moon’s surface soil) contains oxygen and large reserves of helium-3 (He3), with Russian researchers estimating the reserves to be around 2.5 million tons. This rare resource on Earth could be used as fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors. However, the long-term utilization of helium-3 would require the development of a cost-effective extraction method, which is not currently available. Significant infrastructure and transport capacity would also be needed to bring it back to Earth.
Additionally, the metals found on celestial bodies, such as iron, platinum, and nickel, suggest potential for extraction, but these possibilities still require extensive research. Discussions have emerged around the use of resources in their natural location, as the high cost of sending equipment and energy to space bases for exploration missions remains a limiting factor, particularly given the uncertainty regarding the resources that might be found.
At present, developments mainly focus on producing fuel, methane, or hydrogen from space resources. For instance, the metallic asteroid “Psyche,” one of the largest asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, contains approximately 50% iron and nickel—equivalent to millions of years of global annual production.
The Moon is also seen as a necessary stopover for future manned missions to Mars. Additionally, it may serve as a training ground for astronauts to establish a long-term human presence. Lunar missions could also test various equipment, such as manned vehicles or systems for a permanent base. However, differences between planetary environments limit the reliability of these assumptions. Unlike the Moon, Mars has an atmosphere that significantly alters access conditions. Nonetheless, the availability of resources on the Moon could support a permanent human presence there.
Space Competitions and Their Challenges:
The geopolitical conflict between major powers has shifted from terrestrial disputes to outer space, following a period of relative calm after the end of the Cold War. Thus, it is likely that a new wave of “space militarization” will emerge as part of the strategic competition and arms race between the United States, China, and Russia. This competition is further fueled by recent technological advancements that have made it easier for countries and private actors to access space. Currently, more than 70 countries have their own satellites orbiting the Earth, in what is termed the “democratization of space.”
Additionally, the establishment of new space programs focused on the Moon and Mars highlights that space is becoming a new strategic priority for space-faring powers, with consequential claims over space resources. On April 6, 2020, for example, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order stating that the U.S. does not consider outer space to be a “global commons,” reflecting the hidden competition happening beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
However, space competition requires enormous budgets, which poses a challenge for global competitors, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened the global economy. Nevertheless, NASA’s budget (2021-2025) for the Artemis program to explore the Moon appears secure through 2024, with $28 billion allocated, $16 billion of which is exclusively for the lunar lander. However, periodic negotiations with the federal government and Congress will still be necessary to secure future funding.
In addition to financial uncertainties, there are technical and logistical challenges that hinder the potential execution of various envisioned projects, including space mining. Despite grand ambitions, the absence of existing infrastructure may impede the development of concrete action plans.
Moreover, growing concern exists regarding debris in Earth’s orbit. The issue of pollution resulting from the intense exploitation of space resources is gradually becoming critical. The Moon Treaty, for instance, contains environmental provisions aimed at preventing lunar contamination with Earth’s biological materials. The extensive use of outer space is likely to alter the environment in ways that are not yet fully understood.
Thus, the uniqueness of the space environment represents a fundamental challenge that must be considered in the global race for space resources, especially given the high-risk nature of space activities. Spacecraft are constantly subjected to extreme temperature changes and intense radiation. The removal of space debris could itself become an economic activity. For example, the Japanese company “Astroscale” is actively developing space “clean-up” technologies, which are essential for the development of other space activities. The European Space Agency is undertaking a similar initiative with its “ClearSpace-1” mission to remove debris from its operations, in partnership with the Swiss company “ClearSpace SA.”
A Multilateral Approach:
In the context of the competition for space resources, the Artemis Accords aim to impose an international vision led by the United States on future practices in space. These are bilateral agreements between the U.S. and several countries participating in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon by 2024 and beyond. So far, 23 countries have signed the accords, forming a kind of international coalition around the United States. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) also signed a cooperation agreement in June 2022, with these successive memberships gradually fostering a shared vision for cooperation and space exploration through a multilateral approach.
The Artemis Accords stem from a U.S. initiative that began in 2015 under the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act and were further advanced by Executive Order 13914 issued on April 6, 2020. The accords outline ten key principles to guide the U.S. lunar exploration program. This includes organizing regular missions and developing a human lunar lander, despite strong opposition from Russia and China.
In addition to the Artemis Accords, another critical aspect of legal concern is the growing number of national space laws, as each country enacts its own regulations. This creates a legal gray area, making international solutions necessary to establish general, consistent rules for space activities. In this regard, the U.S. cannot oppose the Moon Treaty, which governs state activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies, even though Washington has not signed it.
The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) regularly addresses these issues, but the risk of rapid technological, political, and economic obsolescence of its provisions is high. Thus, NASA and the U.S. State Department decided to develop new rules for establishing “safety zones” — geographical areas where one country requests that others refrain from disrupting its activities. This ensures that space operations can proceed without interference from competitors, establishing a customary practice for future endeavors. For example, the U.S. could request that Chinese spacecraft avoid landing in its scientific research zones.
It is expected that Americans will be the first to return to and settle on the Moon, allowing them to exploit and monopolize lunar resources. Meanwhile, China has proposed a highly ambitious program. The landing of China’s “Chang’e-4” spacecraft on the far, dark side of the Moon in January 2019 — a world first — demonstrates Beijing’s remarkable progress in space exploration.
In the summer of 2020, the China National Space Administration announced plans to build an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) starting in 2036 to exploit space resources beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Even before establishing the station, China intends to carry out human missions to the Moon in the early 2030s. China also hopes to attract international partners to the ILRS, which is planned for the lunar south pole, with Russia having joined the program in 2021.
India is another serious candidate for a lunar mission, despite major setbacks like the Chandrayaan-2 mission, in which the lander was destroyed upon landing on the Moon. While the Artemis Accords, mentioned earlier, are multilateral in nature, countries like China, Russia, and Germany view them as “unequal,” largely due to the U.S.’s lead in space exploration.
In this context, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has followed the U.S.’s path, allowing the mining of celestial bodies as of July 20, 2017. The United Arab Emirates also included the exploitation of celestial resources in its federal law on space sector regulation, adopted on December 19, 2019. Japan has recently followed suit, and both Saudi Arabia and Russia are also looking to exploit lunar resources under their respective lunar programs. Thus, the main issue is ensuring the rights of all parties to the commercial exploitation of resources that belong to everyone within the global economy.
In conclusion, while space mining and energy resources are available, they have not yet been fully identified or assessed in terms of operating conditions. Private actors see significant potential for their exploitation, while states view them as new horizons for political, economic, and strategic confrontations. Legal issues surrounding space resource ownership must be urgently addressed to avoid space wars between powers like the U.S., Russia, and China. This includes the legal status of the Artemis Accords, which provide guidelines rather than binding texts. However, over time, such agreements may form a code of conduct for space competition, potentially evolving into customary law.
Source: Pascal Legai, L’accès aux ressources minières et énergétiques spatiales, Ifri, mai 2023.
