The Luxembourg Government announced Wednesday a series of measures planned which will aim to position Luxembourg as a European hub in the exploration and use of space resources.
Among the major steps to be taken will be the development of legal and regulatory framework confirming the certainty of the future ownership of minerals extracted in space from Near Earth Objects (NEO's), such as asteroids, under the spaceresources.lu initiative. This would set Luxembourg apart from other European countries as the first to announce its intention to set out a formal legal framework which ensures that private operators in space will be rightfully entitles to the rare minerals and other resources that they extract. This would require the legal framework to be worked out in consideration of international law, with the Luxembourg Government having expressed its eagerness at engaging with other countries on the matter.
Luxembourg will also invest in relevant R&D projects and consider direct capital investment in companies active in this field. SES was established in the Grand Duchy thirty years ago and grew to become one of the field's major global players, having also announced today the launch of new satellite data network SES Plus.
The SpaceResources.lu initiative will aim to nurture an entirely new space industry, capable of offering unprecedented access to mineral resources to be used essentially in Earth-orbit and beyond. The objective will be to stimulate economic growth on Earth and offer new horizons in space exploration.
The SpaceResources.lu initiative, which will form part of the national space budget to be decided in December 2016, was announced by Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider, today.
"Our aim is to open access to a wealth of previously unexplored mineral resources on lifeless rocks hurling through space, without damaging natural habitats," the Deputy PM commented. "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. At first, our aim is to carry out research in this area, which at a later stage can lead to more concrete activities in space."
"This is a clear demonstration that European are innovative and able to take risks when the stakes are high," continue Jean-Jacques Dordain, the former Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and advisor to the Luxembourg Government on SpaceResources-lu. "While futuristic, the project is based on solid grounds, i.e. technical prowess that already exists in Europe and around the world."
Co-founder and Chair of the Board of Deep Space Industries, Rick Tumlinson, was of the opinion that "by opening up the resources of space, Luxembourg will help take the pressure off the Earth", whilst President and CEO of Planetary Resources, Chris Lewicki, stated: "We commend the Government of Luxembourg in leading the world by establishing this new resources industry, thereby enabling the economic development of near-Earth asteroid resources. Planetary Resources looks forward to working with Luxembourg."
Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO of SES, was also enthusiastic about the project: "We welcome Luxembourg's visionary initiative to take, once again, a pioneering step in space technology and further leverage our shared knowledge and experience. We look forward to contributing with our unique capabilities to these future activities."
"Over the past three decades, Luxembourg has built up extensive know-how in world-class space related activities. Luxembourg can write history once again by further sustaining the attractiveness of the country for a host of next generation space activities," concluded Yves Elsen, Chairperson of the Luxembourg Space Cluster.
Photo by SpaceResources.lu
