The Trump administration is drafting a detailed legal plan to mine the Moon under a new US- sponsored international agreement called the "Artemis Agreement", several sources familiar with Reuters said .
The deal will be the latest attempt to rally allies around NASA’s plan to send humans and space stations to the Moon over the next decade, as the civilian space agency plays a growing role. in the implementation of American foreign policy.
The draft treaty has not yet been officially shared with Washington’s allies.
The Trump administration and many other countries consider the Moon an important strategic asset in outer space. The moon is also valuable for long-term scientific research that could allow future missions to Mars - international cosmic laws governing these activities have been considered by many to be faults. time.
The Artemis Agreement, named after NASA’s new Moon program called Artemis, proposes "safe areas" surrounding future lunar bases to prevent damage or interference from National rivals, companies operating near each other.
The treaty also creates a framework under international law that allows companies to own the resources they exploit, sources said.
In the coming weeks, US officials planning to formally negotiate agreements with space partners such as Canada , Japan and European countries, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), kick off. negotiations with countries that the Trump administration considers "similar" interests in lunar mining.
Russia, a major partner with NASA on the International Space Station, will not be an early partner in this agreement, sources said. The Pentagon increasingly sees Moscow as hostile for sending satellites "in a" threatening way towards US spy satellites in orbit.
The United States was a member of the 1967 Aerospace Treaty and regarded "safe areas" as the implementation of one of the pact’s controversial provisions. This provision states that the celestial bodies and the Moon "are not subject to sovereignty by states, by use or occupation, or by any other means".
The Artemis Agreement is part of a plan by the administration of President Donald Trump to abandon the 1967 treaty process at the UN and instead reach an agreement with "like-minded countries", according to one source. believe.
As countries increasingly see space as a new military district, the U.S.-led deal is also a symbol of NASA’s growing role as a tool of U.S. diplomacy. The agreement is likely to be controversial among Washington’s space rivals, such as China .
NASA is investing tens of billions of dollars in the Artemis program, calling for a trip to the Moon by 2024 and building a "sustainable presence" on the southernmost moon, with private companies exploiting it. Moon rocks and groundwater can be converted into rocket fuel.
