World Space Week: Who owns space?

First countries, now companies, are trying to get into space,

but can they keep what they find up there?

As more people aim for the stars,

we'll show you how the law is ahead of them.

We've passed the six-minute mark in our countdown for Apollo 11.

Could any country ever take over another planet?

In general, the international space law works...

works in a manner where if...

if you keep somebody else out,

then the other person would probably keep you out as well.

Ignition sequence starts.

And the new space race is on...

but what can companies actually own from space?

When America landed the first man on the moon,

why didn't he just say it was US property?

That's one small step for man...

If Russia became the first state to send someone to Mars,

what would stop them from owning it?

One thing – the Outer Space Treaty –

signed by more than a hundred countries.

It says no country can claim any part of outer space:

space belongs to every nation.

But in 2020, eight countries signed the Artemis Accords.

They're an agreement between governments

who are taking part in the Artemis programme,

an American-led effort to land on the moon.

But not everyone is happy.

China, India and even big companies are blasting off into space.

So how does the law help decide who owns what they find up there?

Commercial space lawyer, Deepika Jayakodi,

explained what the first major bit of space law – the Outer Space Treaty –

says about what countries can own in space.

There's one article which says that the Moon

and the celestial bodies in outer space

are free for exploration and use,

and then there's another article that says that

no country can stake a claim in space:

you cannot appropriate a portion of space.

So, although you can use things –

the structures that you build on the Moon or a celestial body –

you cannot really claim to own the territory in which you put this.

The Outer Space Treaty says that,

while you can use things you find in space,

you can't actually claim somewhere as your territory

and stop other countries from using it too.

What does this mean if a country wants to build a Moon base?

A country can set up a base on the Moon

and you can use the materials that are available on the Moon

to build this base: you could use the Moon rocks,

you could use the Moon dust and so on.

So, you own the resources as soon as they are extracted from the Moon.

But you don't own the territory from which you extract these resources.

Countries can set up bases on the Moon,

but still wouldn't own the part of the Moon they're on.

They can use the things they find up there, such as water or rocks.

So, could you keep another country out of your base?

In general, the international space law works...

works in a manner where if...

if you keep somebody else out,

then the other person would probably keep you out as well.

So, you would rather build a base

and ensure that it is accessible to others

as long as they provide you access to their site or base as well.

Space laws require cooperation

between the countries and organisations involved.

If you keep people off your base, they'd do the same to you.

Deepika explained why there's a disagreement over the Artemis Accords.

These principles reflect already the principles in the Outer Space Treaty

and the concern of some countries and scholars

is that these principles reflect a US position

or a US interpretation of space laws.

In... space law is an international law

and it is important that it takes into account

the different perspectives coming in from different parts of the world.

The US came up with these new rules with a number of other countries.

Some experts worry the Artemis Accords

might just reflect a US point of view,

rather than working with the whole world.

So, while countries can use what they find in space,

it's harder to say they own a planet or a moon.

But what if we're not just talking about countries?

When the space race started last century,

it was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.

But now a new contest is under way,

this time between two billionaires

who made their fortunes on the internet.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk

don't simply want us to get back into space,

they want us to stay there – with talks of cities on Mars...

So, how will the law cover corporations

who are exploring beyond our planet?

Dr Thomas Cheney, from the Open University,

explains how the law covers what private companies can own.

It's a very grey area

within the international space law system,

but property law is based on the country that you are from,

or that you are interested in,

and it follows you into outer space.

So, you know, you have to get permission from your government

to even go into outer space and you...

because you are operating in a spaceship,

then the laws of your country apply in that spaceship.

And so it follows you, as you go into outer space.

Current space law isn't actually very clear

as to what a company can own in space,

so we sometimes use property law from our own countries.

Is this changing?

Yes, space law is developing and it is something –

countries are actively trying to change laws,

particularly around ownership,

because they feel that being able to own things like space resources

is vital for the economic development of outer space.

And so they are saying that if you're a company

and you do the work to extract a resource from outer space,

then they will recognise that you have property rights over that.

Countries are developing laws

over what their private companies can own in space.

This helps the countries to grow

by using the huge amount of resources that are up there.

How would you decide who owns something if there's a disagreement?

So, under the current rules,

the best way to do that is to sue someone in a court –

or the only way to do that is to sue someone in a court,

but that's a time-consuming and expensive process,

so we want to avoid that if possible.

But that requires some rules and guidelines

to more amicably or peacefully resolve these conflicts,

without having to go to court.

Any disputes over ownership in space would be settled in court,

but it is time-consuming and expensive.

As we go into new territories in space, how do we design new laws?

That's... that's absolutely one of the biggest challenges.

We can look at some other regimes, other systems,

like the Law of the Sea Convention,

because that environment is somewhat similar to outer space.

But the main way of doing it is we start with voluntary processes,

So, we... we get together with the industry actors

who are thinking about doing these activities

and we, kind of, come up with some guidelines

or some... and some basic principles for how to behave,

and over time this will evolve into a legal framework.

It's a huge challenge, but we would use similar laws,

like those covering the sea, to create space laws.

These will change over time.

We've seen that the law makes sure one country or organisation

can't claim they own a planet or a moon,

but they are allowed to use what they find in space.

And, as private companies start to head into orbit,

the law will be with them, changing

to keep space free for everyone.