In space, no one can hear you exploit resources. But you can own them, according to a legal framework about to take effect in Luxembourg.

(Source: SpaceResources.lu)According to the document, space resources are capable of being appropriated and, “No person can explore or use space resources without holding a written mission authorisation from the minister or ministers in charge of the economy and space activities.”

Luxembourg is the first European country to offer such a framework ensuring that private operators can be confident about their rights on resources they extract in space. The overall strategy is to be implemented within the SpaceResources.lu initiative whose goal is to support the long-term economic development of new, innovative activities in the space industry. Within this strategy, the country is supporting research and development projects of some leading players in the space mining industry that have already set up their European operations in Luxembourg.

The government and the European Space Agency also recently signed a joint statement on future activities concerning missions to asteroids and space resources exploration and utilization.