The Moon Is Not a Commune: Why Space Resource Rights Must Be Protected

America Has Earned the Right to Lead, Securing Private Property Rights in Space

“This Feb. 5, 1971, photo gives an excellent view of the Apollo 14 lunar module on the Moon’s surface after landing. At left, we can see that the astronauts – Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell – deployed the U.S. flag before taking this photo of the lunar module.” Image credit: NASA

When humans first set out to explore the New World, it was not international committees or bureaucratic treaties that determined who succeeded, but rather those who took the risk, invested capital, and built sustainable settlements. Spain, France, Portugal, and England all launched expeditions to stake their claims, but ultimately, private enterprise, property rights, and self-governance laid the foundation for the most successful efforts—those of the English.

It is no small irony that today, as the U.S. leads the world in space exploration from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, it does so just a few hundred miles south of St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in what would become the United States, founded by Spain in 1565.

However, while the Spanish were early pioneers, their top-down, state-controlled colonization efforts could not keep pace with the decentralized, market-driven approach of the English, who generally allowed private investment and individual land ownership to drive expansion. American policymakers should learn their history and ensure that American values of private property and free enterprise drive growth in outer space. That is good for Americans and the world.

Today, policymakers and legal scholars raise concerns about legal gaps in space law, particularly regarding lunar resource extraction. A recent piece by a law professor and a speech last year by a Department of Defense lawyer reflects a prevailing assumption—that an international rules-based order should govern outer space. While some of their concerns about governance are valid, their proposed solutions lean too heavily toward collectivist international control of space resources, echoing the same failed models of communal ownership that have stifled innovation and economic growth throughout history.

The Moon is not a commune, and if we allow flawed interpretations of international law to dictate space exploration, we risk undermining American leadership, free enterprise, and the very principles that made the U.S. a spacefaring nation in the first place. The Moon is a celestial body that Americans reached first, and it should be treated as a strategic asset for the American people. If the U.S. can establish dominance, it should set the terms for lunar access, including charging landing fees and granting extraction rights that align with national interests and economic growth.