Moon's legal status contested as billionaires race to colonize it
The 1967 UN treaty bans national ownership of the Moon, yet the US, billionaires and other nations are pushing competing claims.
SpaceX's Elon Musk wants to build a self-growing city on the Moon within a decade. Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos also wants to colonise it.
Reports suggest a race to build nuclear reactors there, with the US and a Russia-China alliance competing for lunar resources. The Moon's legal status is unclear.
The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty says the Moon is not subject to national appropriation and must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, but has no rules on mining. In 2015, the US passed a law letting its citizens and companies own space resources.
Luxembourg, the UAE and Japan followed suit. A 1979 UN Moon Agreement, ratified by only 18 nations including Australia, says the Moon's resources belong to all humanity.
Lawyers and space experts are divided on how to interpret these conflicting rules. Seventy-six nations have signed NASA's Artemis Accords to reaffirm support for the original treaty.
Russia and China rejected them.
Why it mattersIf billionaires and nations can't agree on Moon ownership rules, conflicts over resources and territory could escalate beyond Earth.
AustraliaAustralia ratified the 1979 Moon Agreement but faces pressure from allies pursuing competing lunar claims. How the Moon is governed will affect Australia's long-term space interests.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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