08 Jul Challenging or Aligning the Outer Space Treaty? A comparative Analysis of American and Luxembourgian Space Mining

Victoria Luque García

E-mail: vluque.ieu2021@student.ie.edu

Abstract

As private companies race to mine celestial bodies, national laws in the U.S. and Luxembourg have “legalised: resource extraction testing the Outer Space Treaty’s ban on appropriation. This article examines whether these laws align with or undermine international space law, revealing a growing legal grey area. Via analysis of treaty language, national legislation, and global reactions; it argues that space governance is at risk of fragmentation and conflict. To address this, the article explores potential legal solutions as without reform, the commercial space age may outpace legal consensus, jeopardising the principle of space as the

“province of all humankind.”

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