Dean Sundahl Publishes Op-Ed Piece on Asteroid Mining Legislation

Associate Dean Mark Sundahl recently published an op-ed piece in Space News encouraging the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) to acknowledge the legality of the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA), which was passed by the U.S. Congress last year. The purpose of the CSLCA is to protect the rights of U.S. asteroid mining companies to assert ownership over any natural resources they extract from asteroids. In the op-ed, Dean Sundahl explains that the CSLCA is in compliance with international laws, including the Outer Space Treaty which prohibits national appropriation of celestial bodies; additionally, he asserts that the protections of the CSLCA are necessary to ensure investor confidence.