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Glossary

Space law runs on a small vocabulary that does not mean what it sounds like. These are the terms used across the primers and the paper, defined in a sentence or two. Any term marked with a dotted underline elsewhere on the site links back here.

30 terms

A

adverse possession: A terrestrial doctrine under which long, open, uncontested use can ripen into ownership. Sometimes floated as an analogue for long-duration lunar operations.
Artemis Accordsalso: the Accords: A set of non-binding bilateral commitments, opened in 2020, on how signatories intend to conduct civil space exploration.; Political commitments, not a treaty. They affirm that resource extraction does not by itself constitute national appropriation, and introduce safety zones — but say nothing about private tenure.
authorization and continuing supervisionalso: continuing supervision, authorization and continuing supervision: The Article VI duty that makes a state license and oversee its private operators. It is the hook by which national law reaches companies in space.

C

common heritage of mankindalso: common heritage: A doctrine that treats a domain as owned collectively by humanity and managed through an international regime that shares the benefits.; Borrowed from the deep-seabed provisions of the Law of the Sea. Its appearance in the Moon Agreement is the main reason spacefaring states refused to join.
COPUOSalso: Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: The UN committee where space law is negotiated. It works by consensus, which makes new binding instruments extremely slow.
customary international lawalso: customary law: Binding rules that arise from consistent state practice followed out of a sense of legal obligation, rather than from a written treaty.

D

due regard: The Outer Space Treaty's obligation (Article IX) to conduct activities with reasonable consideration for the corresponding interests of other states.

E

extracted resourcesalso: extraction, resource extraction, recovered resources: Material that has been removed from the ground. Four national statutes now recognize title in extracted material; none recognizes title in the ground itself.

H

harmful interference: Activity that would disrupt another party's peaceful activities in space. Article IX requires consultation before proceeding.

I

in situalso: in-situ, in place, resources in place: Latin: 'in place'. Material still in the ground, unextracted. Ownership of in-situ resources is unsettled everywhere.
ISRUalso: in-situ resource utilisation, in-situ resource utilization: In-situ resource utilization: making propellant, water, power, or structure from local material instead of shipping it from Earth.

L

launching state: The state that launches, procures the launch of, or hosts the launch of an object — and therefore carries international liability for it.

M

mining claimalso: claim staking, staking: A terrestrial mechanism giving a discoverer an exclusive right to work a described parcel, recorded in a public register.; The absence of any register beyond Earth means there is no way to record priority, resolve overlap, or pledge a claim as collateral.
Moon Agreementalso: 1979 Moon Agreement, Moon Treaty: The 1979 agreement that declares the Moon and its resources the common heritage of mankind and forecloses private property.; In force, but joined by only a handful of states and by no major spacefaring nation. Its Article 11 is the one instrument that expressly rules out private ownership of the surface, the subsurface, and resources in place.

N

national appropriationalso: appropriation, non-appropriation: A state claiming sovereignty over territory in space. Prohibited by Article II of the Outer Space Treaty.; The prohibition runs to states — by claim of sovereignty, by use or occupation, or by any other means. Whether it reaches a private party's possession of extracted material is the central contested question.

O

Outer Space Treatyalso: OST, 1967 Outer Space Treaty: The 1967 framework treaty that governs all activity beyond Earth. Binding on every spacefaring state.; Seventeen articles of principle rather than a code. It bars national appropriation (Article II), makes states responsible for their nationals' activities (Article VI), and says nothing explicit about private ownership of resources.

P

property rightalso: property rights, private property: An enforceable claim to use, exclude others from, and transfer a thing. Enforceability, not paperwork, is what makes it bankable.
province of all mankind: Language in Article I of the Outer Space Treaty describing exploration and use as being for the benefit of all countries.; A purpose clause, not an ownership regime. It is frequently confused with 'common heritage of mankind', which carries a redistribution obligation that 'province of all mankind' does not.

R

ratificationalso: ratify, ratified: The formal step by which a state consents to be bound by a treaty it has signed. Signature alone does not create obligations.
registryalso: registration, register of claims: A public record of who holds what. Objects launched into space are registered; claims to places and resources are not.
regolith: The loose, fragmented surface layer of a moon, asteroid, or planet. The feedstock for most proposed off-Earth construction and processing.

S

safety zonealso: safety zones: An area around an operation where others are asked to coordinate before approaching, introduced by the Artemis Accords.; Framed as deconfliction, not exclusion — but a zone that persists and excludes in practice starts to resemble tenure, which is why it is contested.
soft law: Instruments that shape behavior and expectations without being legally binding — declarations, guidelines, accords, and principles.
space resourcesalso: space resource: Abiotic materials found in place beyond Earth — regolith, water ice, volatiles, and metals — considered as inputs to industry.
state partyalso: state parties, states parties, parties to the treaty: A state that has ratified or acceded to a treaty and is legally bound by it.

T

tenurealso: surface tenure, land tenure: A recognized, durable right to occupy and work a defined place — as distinct from owning what you have already dug up.; No instrument today grants tenure beyond Earth. This is the gap the white paper argues must be closed before serious capital moves.
titlealso: title on recovery, legal title: Formal legal ownership of a thing, good against the world and capable of being transferred.

U

UDHR Article 17also: Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration provision recognizing everyone's right to own property alone or in association, and not to be arbitrarily deprived of it.
UNOOSA: The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs — secretariat to COPUOS and keeper of the register of objects launched into outer space.
usufructalso: usufructuary: A right to use property and take its fruits without owning the underlying asset. Often proposed as a middle path for lunar and asteroid activity.