The Defects and Possible Improvements of the Legal Regime Governing Outer Space Mining

Outer space minning will become most atractive to manking, especially to major nations with space-going capability, including China. Current outer space law doesn’t deny outer space property rights, which provides basic legal foundation for outer space mining. However, the common heritage principle seems to worry the potential outer space mining investors. To establish a friendly legal environment for outer space mining, an outer space mining regime founded on explict property rights is needed.