Asteroid mining could reshape global supply chains, potentially lowering prices and shifting economic power – but international space law is not ready for it, according to new research from the University of Waikato.
Dr Anna Marie Brennan, a Senior Lecturer in the University’s Te Piringa Faculty of Law, says private companies are rapidly turning asteroid mining into a commercial reality. Firms such as AstroForge and Karman+ are already developing the technology to extract rare metals from outer space.
“These materials are currently used in smartphones, electric vehicles, batteries and clean energy technology,” Dr Brennan says. “If companies gain legal access to mine and sell them, it could significantly affect global supply chains, prices and determine who profits.”
Her research argues that the laws governing space – the 1967 Outer Space Treaty – offers only limited guidance on environmental protection and resource management.
“The Outer Space Treaty says space should benefit all humankind, but it provides little detail about how to manage environmental damage or prevent conflict over resources,” she says.
Dr Brennan warns that without stronger rules, asteroid mining could replicate some of the environmental and governance failures seen on Earth.
Mining missions could create space debris that disrupts satellites and GPS, interferes with astronomy, or damages sites of scientific and cultural value. Clear regulation is crucial for safety and fairness.
She says new laws will need to clarify who is responsible for accidents, how the benefits of mining in space are shared, and whether human rights and labour protections apply beyond Earth.
Her paper calls for the establishment of an independent international mechanism to monitor asteroid mining, alongside clear environmental impact assessment requirements and transparent systems for managing and governing resource rights and disputes.
We need coordinated international rules now – before large-scale mining begins – to ensure space development is sustainable and benefits humanity as a whole.
Dr Brennan’s paper, Regulating the environmental impact of asteroid mining: Toward an independent international monitoring mechanism was published in Acta Astronautica, one of the world’s leading aerospace engineering journals.
