A legal regime to govern the exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies

The exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies represents one of the most exiting future developments in the field of space law as well as a unique occasion for the economic and social growth of mankind as a whole. The large number of benefits that are expected to be generated from the exploitation of these resources, indeed, not only will contribute to the betterment of conditions of people on Earth but also will allow mankind to face and likely solve one of the biggest problems currently affecting our planet, namely the exhaustion of the stocks of raw materials and other source of energy, such as fossil fuels. The exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies, however, has been prevented so far by the absence of dedicated space law rules allowing its orderly and peaceful development and clarifying the rights and duties of the parties involved in it. Due to the uncertainty generated by the absence of these rules, indeed, States as well as private operators have refrained from investing in the exploitation of space resources so far. The time to change this situation and to allow the exploitation of extraterrestrial resources to begin has finally come. This paper aims at fulfilling this purpose by proposing a legal regime containing specific and detailed rules to regulate the exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies.