As the human race’s population and dependence on raw materials continues to grow, space colonization will become a possible means of coping. Examination of several planetary bodies within the solar system reveal that they have significant mineral wealth – in particular an asteroid (Near-Earth Object) is estimated to have more recoverable metal than has been mined in human history.
Colonizing and mining space bring up a new set of political and social issues to be addressed. Our current international laws will not be sufficient to handle issues such as ownership or the rights of colonists. Who will own these new colonies? Will they have direct ties to existing Earth nations, or will they be new nations which govern themselves? At what point does a colony become an independent country?
Furthermore, if technology improves to the point where it becomes profitable to pursue asteroid mining, corporations will definitely want to stake their claims. While corporations are currently bound by the laws of the country they operate in to maintain safe working environments and protect property rights, there will need to be an entirely new legal structure for space mining. Among other issues, it will need to be decided who has the jurisdiction to impose such laws on a company operating in space. In the beginning, it may be possible to allow corporations to be policed by their home countries, but this could lead to conflicting rules and ownership claims. Also, it is possible that at some point corporations will be operated entirely in space, without a home country on Earth. As businesses are run with the bottom line in mind, it is imperative that there is some kind of enforcement to protect workers and determine which companies have the right to mine a particular site or asteroid. There are also environmental considerations for planetary mining. It will be necessary to protect environments from contamination that may already, or have the potential in the future, to harbour life. Also, it would be unwise to poison habitats that have the potential to sustain human life, since these may be refuges from overpopulation, or environmental or social catastrophe on Earth.
Companies will stake their claims in the same way that they stake claims on Earth – buying up the rights to the land, then mining the subsurface material for valuable ore. But from whom will they buy the rights? First, governments or bodies that legally have the authority to control and regulate the sale and ownership of asteroids, planets, and the like will have to be established. From there, land claims may be made and whole sections can be bought. Such an organization may be responsible for divvying up claims on asteroids, moons, and planets, collecting money for these (eg. to fund other parts of the space program), and mediating disputes between claimants. Then, once mining operations have commenced, another regulatory body will have to ensure that workers rights are protected, workplace policies are met, and environmental regulations are followed. However, the last point is quite controversial since there has been little in the way of research into how these environments operate, or even how they might be affected by human activity. Finally, it may be hard to patrol these areas and enforce laws enacted by regulatory bodies that are so far away. It would be like the wild west before the arrival of the sheriff – people would have to stand up for themselves and their rights.
We don’t yet have solutions to these problems, but it may be useful to look to similar instances on Earth to help us understand the societal implication of extending a permanent human presence into space. The colonial period was a time in human history marked by a massive expansion of land ownership and migration of peoples from the old to the new world. It was a time in which the balance of power shifted quickly and decisively between competing European nations. During this time there was also an explosion of human population and thought which helped bring about the democratic and industrial revolutions.
It is likely that the the first colonists of any planet will have either astronaut training or military training and form part of a crew. In such cases, the style of governance follows a specific chain of command that is not democratic. As these societies establish themselves they may continue to be autocratic unless the right conditions exist to foster the democratic process – a literate and educated population, separation of church and state, as well as a decoupling of military and industry influences from the political discourse. Only then may a civilian government be established. However, it’s possible that societies of that time may choose a different route to delegate authority than through the democratic process. They may opt for more authoritarian or more egalitarian governments, depending on the needs and size of the society and the available resources.
These are just some of the issues that the colonization of space will create. It will be important to create a system of governance, to arbitrate disputes and protect colonists. Only time can tell what this system will be, and how colonists will choose to govern themselves.
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