An international treaty on the extraterrestrial bodies stipulates that no nation should mark territories in outer space. However, a recent policy put in place by the US authorized the ownership of the space resources.
NASA has made advances on the acquisition of lunar resources. It is intending to initiate the business of trading on the extraterrestrial resources on Earth. They requested private organizations who are willing to take part in the process to expedite it before 2024.
A budget that is up to $25,000 has been allocated for the purchase of the samples by NASA. Let’s not compare the millions in budget demanded to reach the lunar surface to the amount offered by NASA. However, this is expected to be a ceremonious show of breathing-to-life the extra-terrestrial resource trade.
NASA expects the private companies to scoop the rock of the lunar surface while recording on the whole process. They are then expected to deliver the material to the International Space Station (ISS) upon which, verification of the actual activity will be done before the payment can be offered.
On his twitter blog, NASA's administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the launch of the first sale and purchase of the moon rock material. He stated that a new policy for the ownership of the resources obtained from the lunar surface and other parts of the solar system had been put in play.
On the other hand, the stand of some nations has not been clear. For instance, Russia, and China seem rather skeptical on the legalization of ownership of the space materials. Even though the Chinese space officials seems to be charmed up by the idea, it is with
clarity that Russians do not seem to support the idea completely.
NASA has stated as well that the sustainability for astronauts in the space can be enhanced if it opts to utilize extra-terrestrial resources for spacecraft. Besides, they opted for the alternative of obtaining water from the lunar south pole that can be used by astronauts for consumption as well as being broken down to the key elements for use as fuel.
NASA made it clear that private organizations are the only ones allowed to take part in the material reclamation. They added that the companies should as well attach any ownership to the materials once handed to NASA. It was preferred that the activities for the operations be accomplished in space and leave the duty of shipping them to Earth for NASA.
Sending astronauts to the lunar surface has been aligned to the attempt by NASA to bring researchers into close contact with the moon and other bodies within the solar system. This will expose the world to the greater possibilities that are yet to be established on the principles governing their existence and in the quest to discover alien life.
It is worth noting that most private companies across the globe have been performing extensive research on the resources from the lunar surface. This has been coupled with the need to make possible the exploitation of the resources outside Earth’s atmosphere. To ease this research, NASA has always made advancements to obtain samples to aid the research.
The terms of the contract given to the private companies demand that upon the signing up for the contract, the private companies will receive a constant amount of up to 10% of the expected amount. They will also receive an amount of up to 10% for the day of the launch into space. The remaining 80% of the expected payment will be delivered to them provided that NASA is satisfied with the material.