“We will support the long-term economic development of new, innovative activities in the space and satellite industries as a key high-tech sector for Luxembourg”, said the country’s deputy prime minister and minister of the economy, Étienne Schneider, in a statement published online on Wednesday.
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The tiny European country is looking forward to establish the essential legal and regulatory framework and spend in linked research and development projects. The two United States companies that are accomplices to Luxembourg’s mission are Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries.
This announcement, coupled with the recent passing of the SPACE Act in the United States, are important milestones in developing a new economic paradigm, where humanity is no longer limited by the resources of Earth. Dordain stated that the initiative stands as clear proof of the innovation Europe is capable of and the Europeans’ willingness to take risks.
“While futuristic, the project is based on solid grounds, for instance technical prowess that already exists in Europe and around the world”, he commented. SES, company based here, is the owner and operator of 50 geostationary satellites.
Get your space boots ready, because Luxembourg is planning on jumping into the apparent gold rush of the 21st century: asteroid mining. Such plan guarantees the confidence of private space sectors in determining their rights to ownership.
SpaceResources.lu will have its national space budget defined in the framework of the budget of the European Space Agency in December of this year, they added. Now, it has also become the first European country to place its bets on asteroid mining rights.
“Manufacturing habitats, machines and giant structures from space resources will open a new era in exploration and settlement of the solar system”, without the additional expense of launching from Earth, the company noted on its website.
LUCY CARTER: Once thought to be a science-fiction concept, Mr Marcus says his company believes successful space mining isn’t too far off.
DSI salutes the Luxembourg government’s unique foresight and their deep understanding of the future of the space industry. But before you get too excited, there are other factors to consider. Last year, Planetary Resources sent a spacecraft to the ISS to test technologies that might be used to harvest resources from an asteroid.
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Regarding this second strategy, many are quick to question the value of the asteroids in Asterank’s database. The elgislation ensured that any American citizen who does collect meteors in space would reamin owner of the materials when they are brought back to earth.
