Support material
Primers
The property-rights argument rests on four legal instruments, and most of the public debate misreads at least one of them. These are short, sourced explainers — what each document says, what it settles, and what it leaves open.
Glossary
Glossary of terms
Appropriation, in-situ, tenure, usufruct, safety zones. Hover any dotted term in a primer for a one-line definition, or read them all in one place.
The Artemis Accords
Non-binding bilateral commitments from 2020 that settled extraction — and said nothing at all about private entities or resources in place.
The Outer Space Treaty
Binding since 1967. Article II forbids nations from claiming territory; Article VI makes states answer for their companies. Neither says who may own what is mined.
The Moon Agreement
The one instrument that forecloses private property outright — surface, subsurface, and resources in place — and the one almost nobody joined.
National space-resource law
The United States, Luxembourg, the UAE, and Japan, compared clause by clause. All four recognize title on recovery; none grants tenure in the ground.