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| OMOTOSHO
DAMILOLA MARVELLOUS OSADUGBA MARVELLOUS AJIJOLAJESU |
ABSTRACT
It is no gainsay that any womb to tomb term
, lunar mission will need to adopt In situ resources utilization (ISRU) to
utilize lunar resources. The moon is a First- class source of building
materials, water, fuel, oxygen and other useful resources but some of these are
highly localised while others need to be processed before they can be used.
While lunar regolith(loose or unconsolidated rock and dust that sits on top of layer of bedrock) suitable for
construction is found all over the surface, ice that can be used to produce
fuel, oxygen and liquid water is only found in permanent shade such as in craters
or at the poles. Some survey work has been executed from orbiters and surface
rovers, and experiments have been done on earth, but we don’t really decipher
how ISRU will work in practice.
The Moon could harbour more metals than had previously been believed
beneath its surface, according to research conducted using NASA data. The new
brainwave about the Moon’s geological composition may affect theories as to the
celestial body’s origin, but the news will also pique the interest of aspiring
Moon miners
INTRODUCTION
International law was rocked by the introduction of the Artemis Accords,
an agreement that allows mining on the Moon in support of scientific missions.Richer
nations stand to gain the most from access to space, with a recent international
agreement allowing them to lawfully mine the Moon and other objects in space in
support of scientific missions.
The United States announced a plan to return humans to the Moon in 2020,
half a century after the Apollo missions. Named after the twin sister of
Apollo, the Artemis plan aims at establishing a permanent human presence on the
Moon and a lunar orbiting station called the Gateway. The Artemis missions
on the Moon will serve as a testing ground for the first human missions to Mars
and beyond, effectively marking a new era in human spaceflight. To ensure the sustainability of long-term human
missions, the Artemis plan envisions the use of space resources. For example,
mining the rocks and soil of the Moon for oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen can
provide breathing air, and combining oxygen and hydrogen can serve as drinking
water as well as a radiation shield on the lunar camp.Oxygen and hydrogen are
also the basic elements of propellant, which is essential for space traveling
The Artemis plan clarifies the legal
basis for using space resources in support of the Artemis missions in an
agreement called the Artemis Accords. Legally speaking, the Accords are not a
treaty: they do not create binding obligations under international law.They only
apply to the United States and the other countries that intend to take part in
the Artemis missions. However, the Artemis Accords have legal significance.
They are presented as implement[ing] the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty.
As such, they represent a blueprint of conduct that other nations may follow
for their own purposes.
Furthermore, some provisions in the
Artemis Accords add detail and interpretation to the Outer Space Treaty. This
is where the issue of fairness comes into play.The Artemis Accords clarify that
the extraction of space resources does not inherently constitute national
appropriation, provided that contracts and other legal instruments relating to
space resources should be consistent with the [Outer Space] Treaty.In other
words, nations mining the resources of the Moon do not acquire any property
rights over those resources; they do not own them. However, In this sense, the
Artemis Accords remain within the Outer Space Treaty's provision on national
appropriation. In practice, the absence of any regulatory framework determining
who has access to space resources and under what circumstances, mean the
Artemis Accords support the use of space resources on a first come, first
served basis.
As a result, states with the financial
and technological means to get there first will gain the most. Less developed
or emerging spacefaring states will not profit from space resource utilisation,
at least not directly.Another provision of the Artemis Accords, adding detail
to the text of the Outer Space Treaty, requires nations conducting activities
on the Moon to create a safety zone' to avoid harmful interference with the
activities of other nations. A safety zone is a temporary exclusion zone of
limited size. The Outer Space Treaty does not mention safety zones. It
only requires nations to conduct their activities in outer space with due
regard to others operating in space. But, it is noteworthy that the Artemis Accords also introduce new
concepts. For example, Section 9 provides:
1.” The Signatories intend to
preserve outer space heritage, which they consider to comprise historically
significant human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other
evidence of activity on celestial bodies in accordance with mutually developed
standards and practices.
2. The Signatories intend to use their experience under the
Accords to contribute to multilateral efforts to further develop international
practices and rules applicable to preserving outer space heritage.”
The above aims at preserving outer space heritage through the creation
of a safety zone. While protection of historic sites on Earth is
uncontroversial, determining an historic site in outer space has no precedent.
However, If a nation unilaterally declared an area of the Moon a place
of historic value, it could violate the principle of non-appropriation. For
example, the United States may declare the Apollo 11 landing site and Neil
Armstrong's boot prints a site of historic value and create a safety zone
around it. Such action could amount to a de facto appropriation of an area of
the Moon.The Artemis Accords appear to anticipate this pitfall by requiring
nations to engage in multilateral efforts to develop rules aimed at preserving
outer space heritage.
Recently, one way international law develops and evolves is through
practices that become so ingrained that states consider them to have the value
of law. As of April 2022, 18 countries have signed the Artemis Accords. As many
signed the 1979 Moon Agreement, the least ratified among the outer space
treaties.If the number of nations supporting the Artemis Accords keeps
increasing, it will create a widely shared standard of conduct. A growing
number of nations relying on the Artemis Accords to carry out space activities
will reinforce the belief that they are the applicable law for space mining,
safety zones and heritage protection.
To avoid future controversies, the Artemis Accords are not international
law, but they have the potential to become the next customary practice in
international law.
ECO-FRIENDLY OR ECO- HOSTILE
Positive impact; the moon metals
include scandium, yttrium and others, which could be used in vehicle engines,
to make glass or ceramics, electronic, devices,
radar system, superconductors and more. Even rare is helium-3, a gas that could be used as a
clean and powerful fuel for fusion reactions. To acquire and control a strong supply of rare
of rare earth metal. It creates new business opportunities for technological
innovation and application and
utilization of new resources. It is an important source of resources
such as building materials, oxygen, water, fuel e.t.c
Negative impact: it's highly
abrasive, so it wears down surfaces and damages seals. It's dark and clingy, so
coats anything that's taken outside, and it's toxic as well, posing a health
hazard to any astronaut who inhales quantities of the stuff. " The dust is
one of the greatest unsolved problems in returning to the moon".
However, Section 10(1) provides:
“The Signatories note that the utilization of space
resources can benefit humankind by providing critical support for safe and
sustainable operations”
That’s to say ,the benefit of moon
mining can’t be overemphasized because dangers exposed isn’t much especially as
to ecological system of Man. The masses of the moon is around 7.35×10™22 kg. If
the moon to be mined with all countries of the world combining their efforts
and taking from the moon surface at the same rate ,they can mine today on Earth
,and sending that made somewhere else. It would take in the order of 10™6 years
(a million years) to reduce the mass of the moon by 0.01%.
I think we would be safe for a long while at least where the stability of the
Earth – moon system regarded.
CONCLUSION
The bigger concern is Environmental damage from the impact of future
generations, the importance of the Moon in human culture and heritage and.
Visual impact of the Earth. So far , so good, it is also gathered that too much
activities on the moon could caused an unexpected tides which may dangerous to
Human. Although, for now , much dangers
aren’t exposed to the Environment but can’t say 2080 .To prevent unexpected
dangers, Regulations and strict adherence must be put in place to avoid much
industrial activities on the moon
REFERENCE
- :press
trust of india, 'Moon-mining gains legality;' (:Press Trust Of India, Apr
11 , 2022) <https://. Republicworld.com> accessed 25 April 2022
-Zachary Skidmore, 'Lunar gold
Rush' (MINING
TECHNOLOGY, 2020) <https://www.mining.technology.com> accessed
25 April 2022
. About
us
@ OMOTOSHO DAMILOLA
MARVELLOUS
A noble student of the prestigious Faculty of
law ,Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo state. He is a Fervid
article writer on Law encompassing Scientific fields, for instance SPACE LAW,
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ELECTRICITY LAW, ENERGY LAW AND SO ON He can be reached via omotoshomarvellous57@gmail.com
@ OSADUGBA MARVELLOUS AJIJOLAJESU
A noble student of the prestigious Faculty
of law ,Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo state , she is a
Fervid article writer on Law encompassing Scientific fields ,for instance SPACE
LAW, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, ELECTRICITY LAW, ENERGY LAW AND SO ON!She can be
reached via osadugbamarvellous31@hotmail.com