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Space, Science, and Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
Bill confirming property rights for asteroid miners passes the Senate
"...The exact wording of the language reads, "Any asteroid resources obtained in outer space are the property of the entity that obtained them, which shall be entitled to all property rights to them, consistent with applicable federal law and existing international obligations."
The language that defines property rights is designed to get around the provision of the Outer Space Treaty that prohibits countries from establishing sovereign claims on celestial bodies. Traditionally, such claims have been the basis of law defending property rights. The bill's language does not allow private companies to "own" asteroids they mine, but does defend their right to own material they mine from it. Commercial space mining companies are enjoined from interfering with the activities of other entities but are given the right to sue such entities in federal court if they are interfered with.
The legal precedence was set during the Apollo moon landings. The lunar astronauts collected a great amount of soil and rock samples from the moon, which remains the property of the United States. The same principle could be extended to private companies mining platinum group metals, rare earths, and ice for profit....."