US looking to 'legally' mine asteroids via bill "Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015"

05/14/2015 - 00:00


By Jason Koebler | @jason_koebler -

Congress has moved forward with a bill that would make it legal for US companies to mine asteroids for minerals, despite the fact that it appears to be in violation of an international treaty that the United States itself wrote.

The bill, called the Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act of 2015, states that "any asteroid resources obtained in outer space are the property of the entity that obtained such resources, which shall be entitled to all property rights thereto."

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READ THE SPACE RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND UTILIZATION ACT OF 2015 (PDF)