The Artemis Accords vs The Moon Treaty: Understanding the Difference

Two international frameworks claim to govern humanity's return to the Moon, and they disagree on the fundamental question of whether anyone can own what they find there. The Moon Treaty of 1979 declares lunar resources the "common heritage of mankind." The Artemis Accords of 2020 assert that extracting space resources "does not inherently constitute national appropriation." These two positions are difficult to reconcile, and the outcome of this legal tension will determine the economics of a lunar industry projected to be worth $170 billion by 2040.

The Moon Treaty (1979)

The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, commonly called the Moon Treaty, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and entered into force in 1984.

Key Provisions

• Common heritage of mankind: Article 11 declares that "The Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of mankind." This is the treaty's most significant and controversial provision.
• International regime: Article 11(5) calls for the establishment of an international regime to govern the exploitation of lunar resources "as such exploitation is about to become feasible." No such regime has been created.
• No appropriation: Neither the surface nor subsurface of the Moon can become the property of any state, international organization, or non-governmental entity.
• Peaceful use: Prohibits military use of the Moon, including weapons testing and military bases.
• Environmental protection: Requires states to take measures to prevent disruption of the lunar environment.
• Information sharing: States must inform the UN Secretary-General of their lunar activities, discoveries, and the location of facilities.

Signatories and Ratifications

The Moon Treaty is widely regarded as a failed treaty. As of 2026:

• Ratified by: Only 17 states, including Australia, Austria, Chile, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Uruguay.
• Not ratified by: The United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, ESA member states, or any other major spacefaring nation.
• Signed but not ratified: France, Guatemala, India, Romania.

No country with an active human spaceflight program has ratified the Moon Treaty. Its "common heritage" principle was seen by spacefaring nations as a barrier to commercial development, similar to objections raised against the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea's deep seabed mining provisions.

The Artemis Accords (2020)

The Artemis Accords are a set of bilateral agreements between the United States and partner nations, establishing principles for civil space exploration. First signed on October 13, 2020, by eight founding nations, the Accords have grown to include over 60 signatories by early 2026.

Key Provisions

• Space resources: Section 10 affirms that "the extraction of space resources does not inherently constitute national appropriation under the Outer Space Treaty." This is the provision most directly at odds with the Moon Treaty.
• Transparency: Signatories commit to open sharing of scientific data and policies.
• Interoperability: Systems should use international standards to support interoperability (e.g., common docking ports).
• Deconfliction: Signatories agree to coordinate activities to prevent harmful interference. This includes establishing "safety zones" around operations, though these zones do not constitute territorial claims.
• Registration: Commitment to registration of space objects under the Registration Convention.
• Orbital debris: Commitment to debris mitigation consistent with existing guidelines.
• Peaceful purposes: Activities conducted under the Accords are for peaceful purposes, consistent with the Outer Space Treaty.
• Heritage preservation: Commitment to preserving historically significant sites, including the Apollo landing sites.

Signatories

The Artemis Accords have been signed by a rapidly growing list of nations:

• Founding signatories (2020): United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
• Subsequent signatories include: South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Israel, Romania, Bahrain, Singapore, Colombia, France, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Czech Republic, Spain, Ecuador, India, Argentina, Iceland, Greece, Germany, Angola, Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Lithuania, and others.

Notably absent: Russia and China, who have characterized the Accords as U.S.-centric and are pursuing their own International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) partnership.

Key Differences

1. Resource Rights

This is the fundamental disagreement. The Moon Treaty says lunar resources belong to all humanity collectively and can only be extracted under an international regime. The Artemis Accords say extraction is permissible and does not constitute appropriation. The U.S. position is reinforced by the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 (the "Space Resource Act"), which grants U.S. citizens the right to own and sell resources extracted from space.

2. Legal Structure

The Moon Treaty is a formal international treaty under international law, binding on ratifying states. The Artemis Accords are non-binding political commitments, bilateral statements of principles rather than legally enforceable obligations. However, the Accords' growing signatory count gives them significant political weight.

3. International Regime

The Moon Treaty requires an international governing body for resource exploitation. The Artemis Accords envision bilateral and multilateral coordination without a centralized authority. The Accords' "safety zones" approach provides a practical mechanism for deconfliction without requiring UN-level governance.

4. Adoption

The Moon Treaty failed to gain support from spacefaring nations. The Artemis Accords have achieved broad adoption, including by major space powers (except Russia and China). The Accords' momentum suggests they are becoming the de facto international framework for lunar activities.

Implications for Lunar Mining

The legal framework for lunar resource extraction matters because significant economic value is at stake:

• Water ice: Confirmed at the lunar south pole by LCROSS, Chandrayaan-1, and other missions. Water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket propellant, potentially creating a lunar "gas station" that dramatically reduces the cost of deep space missions.
• Helium-3: Deposited by solar wind, theoretically useful for fusion energy. Speculative but potentially valuable in the long term.
• Rare earth elements: Present in lunar regolith, though the economics of return to Earth are prohibitive. More relevant for in-situ manufacturing.
• Regolith: Lunar soil itself is a construction material for habitats, radiation shielding, and infrastructure.

Under the Artemis Accords framework, NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program is already contracting with companies like Intuitive Machines, Astrobotic, and Firefly Aerospace to deliver payloads to the lunar surface. These companies are building the infrastructure for an eventual resource extraction industry.

The Future of Lunar Governance

Several scenarios could unfold:

• Artemis Accords become customary international law: If enough states adopt the Accords' principles through domestic legislation and consistent practice, they could crystallize into customary international law, binding even on non-signatories.
• New UN framework: COPUOS could negotiate a new treaty that bridges the gap between the Moon Treaty and the Artemis Accords. The UN working group on space resources is actively exploring this.
• Competing blocs: The Artemis Accords bloc (US-led) and the ILRS bloc (China-Russia-led) could develop parallel but incompatible frameworks, potentially leading to conflicts over lunar resources.
• Commercial reality drives law: As companies begin extracting resources (likely water ice for propellant in the 2030s), commercial practice may outpace legal frameworks. The law would then adapt to economic reality, as it often has throughout history.

The question is not whether lunar resources will be extracted. Multiple nations and companies are actively working toward that goal. The question is under what legal framework, and who benefits.

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