Min(d)ing the #asteroids

As it is part of the human nature to explore, space exploration is undoubtedly a human internal need that is constantly keeping active the human beings in a vast range of sectors, writes Margarita Chrysaki, a Brussels-based political scientist.

One of these sectors is reflected in industry and competitiveness. As a result, the nature of the challenges is not only technological but also social and ethical.

One of the most evident examples is asteroid mining.

So far only two space companies, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries (DSI), are involved with activities on the extraction of useful materials from asteroids, for example, gold, platinum, minerals, water and nickel.

Though both companies are still at the stage of developing spacecraft technologies that are needed for the implementation of their mining activities, it’s interesting to assess the related supportive legal framework.

On 25 November 2015, President Obama signed “the single greatest recognition of property rights in history”.

This groundbreaking law signifies a whole new change for space law as it will allow anyone to own the materials they mine and therefore not to be part of the “common heritage of mankind” as the Outer Space Treaty indicates in its regulation.

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More recently, the government of Luxembourg has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Planetary Resources and with the second space mining company, DSI, “to create the needed framework for private citizens and companies to operate in Space”.

Luxembourg is the first European country to step into co-funding the development of asteroid mining technology and Europe now more than ever needs to inspire a responsible and ethical corporate behaviour in space. Already the European Commission had defined CSR as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer, and human rights concerns into their business strategy and operations”.

Considering the growing commercialization of space exploration, EU leaders now have the chance to inspire and support a new form of CSR that will lead to responsible behaviour in space.

This will not only require an updated set of ‘celestial’ CSR standards and policies, for example, the need of specific guidelines to minimize the problem of space debris or to protect the physical integrity of celestial bodies, but also a new form of CSR as a self regulatory system within space industries.

This kind of “internal audit” within space companies should examine whether the CSR proposals are implemented in practice or not.

European governments have to support and strengthen their policies regarding this new regulatory framework on space industry activities, including asteroid mining and a substantial CSR, which will prevent and act drastically for all kind of social and ethical challenges on earth and space.