Space Mining Approved by Congress

Typically, the law lags far behind technological developments. However, in one recent case, Congress has stepped in front of an issue long before they probably needed to.

HR 2262 is described as a “celestial finder’s keepers law” that enables American citizens to stake claim to resources mined from space. This puts us one step closer to real life space pirates and a cantina on the moon, one giant leap for mankind.

The law calls back to a time when we still had plenty of unexplored territory here on Earth. Homesteading laws and similar provisions incentivized exploration and the expansion of civilization. Eventually, the same may pan out across the interplanetary expanse.