ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR: Could Mining Asteroids Violate Space Law? I don’t think so. The Outer Space Treaty forbids “national appropriation,” but not private property rights. The Moon Treaty’s explicit ban on private property rights is an admission of this, but nobody who matters has ratified the Moon Treaty. Rob Merges and I wrote an article on this for the NYU Environmental Law Journal a while back. Or if you prefer, there’s more here.

I believe that asteroid mining will usher in a new Golden Age . . .

Yeah, it’s a cheap gag, but whaddya want?