Vicky Jeong

Who owns the Moon?

Dennis Hope, Vicky Jeong, Oliver Morton, Anna

Driven by geopolitical rivalry and plummeting launch costs, the international community is preparing for a surge of lunar missions targeting the South Pole to secure water and strategic minerals. While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits national ownership of the Moon, it leaves the legal status of resource extraction ambiguous, creating a landscape where nations like the US favor "finders keepers" principles over existing international precedents. This legal uncertainty and the potential for disputes mirroring terrestrial conflicts will likely persist until commercial operations, such as mining or tourism, become physically established on the surface.