Abstract Commercial lunar resource extraction activities could become a reality in the mid to long term. Under the existing Outer Space Treaty, there is ambiguity regarding the legal context within which such activities could occur. The Artemis Accords, signed in 2020, are proposed as a mechanism by which space resource extraction activities could take place, with a key proposal of the Accords being the use of Safety Zones to facilitate lunar resource extraction. Whilst the use of Safety Zones is ostensibly proposed for small scale In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) activities focussed on lunar water production, messaging around the Artemis Accords has indicated that there may be an intent to use them to set precedent for longer term, larger scale commercial resource activity. This article explores the practicability of using Safety Zones for large scale commercial lunar resource extraction from the perspective of the commercial entities that could undertake such activities. Conceptual long term demand for water sourced from ice contained in the lunar Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) is derived, and the surface area required to produce sufficient water to meet this market demand determined. Due to the potential characteristics of water ice occurrence in the lunar PSRs, the footprint of operations could be substantial, and virtually without precedent in the terrestrial extractive resource industries. The article concludes that the use of the Safety Zones proposed in the Artemis Accords could be impractical for the governance of large scale commercial lunar resource production. It is suggested that whilst small scale ISRU activities take place under the auspices of the Artemis Accords, efforts are continued to develop a multilateral governance framework acceptable to both the international community and to the commercial sector for the potential large scale development of lunar resources.
Artemis Accords: Are Safety Zones Practical for Long Term Commercial Lunar Resource Utilisation?
Space Policy ; 62
2022-07-12
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Space resources , <italic>In situ</italic> resource utilisation , Artemis accords , Safety zones , Space markets , Space mining , Lunar water ice , CH<inf>4</inf> , Methane , CHM , Common Heritage of Mankind , EML1 , Earth-Moon Libration Point L1 , GEO , Geostationary Earth Orbit , GW , Gigawatts , HSI , Human Support Infrastructure , HWG , The Hague Working Group , IASL-IAASS , The Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL) of McGill University and the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) , IISL , International Institute of Space Law , ISRU , In Situ Resource Utilisation , ITU , International Telecommunications Union , JMRC , Junior & Midcap Resource Explorers and Developers , kg , Kilogramme , kg/m<sup>2</sup> , Kilogramme per metre squared , km , Kilometre , LCROSS , Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , LEO , Low Earth Orbit , LH<inf>2</inf> , Liquid Hydrogen , LO<inf>2</inf> , Liquid Oxygen , m , Metre , t , Metric Tonnes , tpa , Metric Tonnes per Annum , NIAC , NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (Program) , OST , Outer Space Treaty , ppm , Parts Per Million , PSR , Permanently Shadowed Regions , SBSP , Space Based Solar Power , SPACE Act , US Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 , SPS-ALPHA , Solar Power Satellite by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array , UAE , United Arab Emirates , UNCLOS , UN Convention of the Law of the Sea , %wt , Weight percent
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