14 DAY TRIAL // During a briefing held by NASA on Tuesday, November 12, Robert Bigelow, who is the CEO of Bigelow Aerospace Inc., has demanded that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FDA) grant private companies the right to conduct mining operations on the Moon.
This request could herald the coming of a new age in space exploration, where celestial bodies are exploited for their natural resources just like Earth currently is. Advancements in space-related technologies are making it feasible to start pondering such operations on the Moon or other planets.
Lunar property rights are a hotly-debated topic in the international community, since granting such rights for any celestial bodies could set a worrying precedent. Those who oppose such rights say that space should belong to all of humanity, not just a select number of private corporations.
Bigelow told the NASA panel that not granting property rights for commercial exploitation of lunar resources would provide companies such as his own with little to no pay-offs for their investments and risk of human lives, National Geographic reports.