Space mining is the process of extracting space resources from asteroids and celestial bodies (Infogence Global Research, 2022). So far, platinum, iron, nickel and some valuable metals have been discovered on the near - earth asteroids, and water, regolith oxygen, helium 3, etc. have been found on the Moon. The exploration of these elements is very promising, as the metals discovered on asteroids are used in the automotive, jewelry, medical and electronics industries. They could also be used to 3D print spacecraft components on the Moon without being brought from Earth. This would facilitate and reduce the cost of building space mining infrastructure on celestial bodies. In addition, water on the Moon could be used for in situ propellant production on the Moon, to be used for interplanetary travel (Anderson, Christensen & LaManna, 2019).

Scientific exploration of lunar resources has been conducted by the United States, the Soviet Union, and China since the 1960s. As for asteroid resource exploration, the first resource collection and return project was the Hayabusa project conducted by Japan. The mission was launched in 2003 and the probe returned in 2010. The next sample collection mission is also planned by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and is named Hayabusa 2. Hayabusa2 was launched in 2014 and dropped its sample in 2020. And finally, the OsirixRex mission of NASA, which was launched in 2016, and the return of the collected samples are expected in 2023 (Missions to Asteroids).

As a result of space resource exploration and findings, space mining is arising as a new commercial activity of the decade. The market value of space mining was $710 million in 2017 and could grow to as much as $ 3.87 billion (Statista Research Department, 2022). Initially, space mining is still focusing on scientific exploration of space resources. For example, Lunar Outpost, Masten Space Systems, ispace Europe and ispace Japan were selected by NASA to collect space resources and transfer their ownership to NASA in 2024. The outcome and lessons learned will play an important role for the Artemis program (Schierholz & Finch, 2021).

The space mining sector will eventually grow even further, and activities will evolve from collecting samples for government agencies to profitable commercial activities. In order to support and encourage the growth of the market, the creation of a legal framework that grants certain rights to the players in the sector is essential. In this case, the question of ownership of extracted resources is particularly fundamental and must be answered by the legal system. Because the answer to this question would attract private actors, investors, etc. to the sector (Infogence Global Research, 2022).

In this paper, I will first discuss the property rights to extracted resources in light of the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement. Then, the national legislation of the United States of America (USA), Luxemburg, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Japan will be refered. Finally, non-governmental initiatives, the Hague the International Space Resources Governance Group (The Hague Group), the Moon Village Association (MVA), and Outer Space Institue that have announced proposals for an international legal system and how they address this issue will be examined.