This US law goes against the opposite principle of "common heritage of mankind" embodied in the 1979 Moon Treaty and the previous Outer Space Treatry:
Article 11 wrote:
1. The moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind,
which finds its expression in the provisions of this Agreement and in
particular in paragraph 5 or this article.
2. The moon is not subject to national appropriation by any claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.3. Neither the surface nor the subsurface of the moon, nor any part thereof or natural resources in place, shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person.
But, then, the USA never signed it. What was envisaged was the "the moon and other celestial bodies" should be owned in common not by mankind but rather by all the States into which the Earth is divided. All the same. "common heritage of mankind" is a concept we can embrace since we think this should apply to the planet Earth too.Actually, paragraph 3 could be adapted to express a legal enactment of world socialism:
Quote:
The surface and the subsurface of the Earth, and any part thereof or natural or industrial resources in place, shall cease to be property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person.