Well it's good that aliens can now legally mine asteroids around our solar system. It was always a grey area although not policed much !!!
Luxembourg passes first EU space mining law. One can possess the Spice
Luxembourg's parliament has passed a law that makes it the first European Union country to offer legal certainty that asteroid mining companies get to keep what they find in space. Take Article 1: "Space resources are capable of being appropriated". "It's a great law," Amara Graps, a planetary scientist, asteroid mining …
COMMENTS
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 16:21 GMT macjules
Well it's good that aliens can now legally mine asteroids around our solar system. It was always a grey area although not policed much !!!
Bloody Luxembourgians, as usual they're only after the EU deep space mining subsidies! I already approached Brussels regarding asteroid belt agronomy subsidies, but was told that there are no plans to subsidise space cabbage growers.
-
-
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 15:36 GMT pug0772
Re: Dodgy Picture
Spice comes from worm activity and is a by product of their natural processes. The water of life comes from drowning a juvenile worm. I had the same thought that the picture was wrong - sandworms die when exposed to water. But in a later book Waff genetically altered the sandworms to become seaworms to live in water on Buzzell - maybe that is the picture? /Geek
-
-
-
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
-
-
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 15:37 GMT Destroy All Monsters
This assumption is correct.
The problem is that there is correctly zero tech to do any sort of space mining whatsoever, and you will have to touchdown in China or the US or the Africa-reformatted-by-China, and thus pay "landing taxes"...
It also doesn't agree with Luxembourg's anti-nuclear stance. Chemical rocket space mining? I laugh. Now, if the next law allows plutonium reprocessing to begin in the industrial wastelands of its southern part, I will change my current sarcastic stance.
Interestingly, Peter Marquez served as director of space policy under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Looks pretty junior. I don't know what he got paid for his efforts, pretty sure it must be a 7-number figure. It sounds like he has one of those close-to-State revolving door jobs that are amply rewarded for emitting Word documents.
-
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 15:36 GMT Destroy All Monsters
Re: Existing Sentient claims
You better hire the United States Space Corps to protect your claims.
Looking forward to seeing actual Space Marines in action.
-
Friday 14th July 2017 19:41 GMT allthecoolshortnamesweretaken
Re: Existing Sentient claims
Didn't they already have Space Marines in the late 1970ies?
-
Wednesday 19th July 2017 09:39 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Existing Sentient claims
@allthecoolshortnamesweretaken - Yep, for at least a decade previously Mr Heinlein in his historical document "Starship Troopers" released in 1959 was writing about space marines.. I still have a NEL edition showing lots of white space-suited figures with red weapons 'on the bounce' during combat on the cover. Still one of my favourite books, and far, far better than the dreadful film of the same name.
-
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 19:34 GMT Anonymous Coward
> "Who will testing the materials mined for odd chemicals or pathogens that might be coming back to Earth?"
Somebody has been watching old movies.
"Odd chemicals"? Can't compare to the ones we create right here on Earth. I mean, the idea of Rampaging Minerals from Space is sooo 50's (pretty good movie tho).
About the pathogens. No fear; any poor, radiation-raddled microbe that somehow manages to arrive intact will find itself at the mercy of an existing (and highly advanced) biosphere, that will of course show no mercy. At best it will somehow survive and become a distinct part of the biosphere, like Archaea but more foreign.
It's really our implacable microbes that might threaten other potential biomes (Mars, Europa).
-
Monday 17th July 2017 17:34 GMT IT Poser
It's really our implacable microbes that might threaten other potential biomes (Mars, Europa).
Are you sure about that?
Earth microbes have evolved to compete on Earth. I find it highly doubtful that Earth life will be able to out-compete Martian(or any other location) life in its native habitat.
That said, we want to identify and understand alien life before we start mixing. We wouldn't want the microbe that produces the cure for cancer to die before we find it.
-
-
-
Friday 14th July 2017 19:53 GMT Anonymous Coward
Depends. How many asteroids are bigger than Luxembourg? Might want to pick a smaller unit, like say, the 'guam,' or maybe even the 'liechtenstein.'
About that iceberg, Delaware seems to be a natural unit, altho "Two Rhode Islands" might be more apropos. Wales is not useful because it's bigger than any known iceberg.
-