Who Owns the Moon? – Space Competition and Unclear Rules in a Place Where No One Lives (Yet)

As of 2025, interest in the Moon is rapidly growing. NASA, China, and several private companies are actively planning missions—not only for exploration but also for building infrastructure and accessing potential resources. Even though no permanent base or commercial operation exists on the Moon yet, governments and companies are already asking a key question: Who will get access to lunar resources, and under what rules?

This renewed interest is largely tied to the discovery of water near the Moon’s poles. Water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen, which are essential for fuel production and sustaining long-term missions. This makes the Moon a potential base for future space activities—scientific, logistical, and possibly economic.

That raises a logical question: Is it reasonable to discuss ownership and rights in a place that humanity hasn’t yet reached in any permanent way? At first glance, such discussions may seem premature. But in practice, this is exactly when the foundational rules are shaped. Those who define the framework today are more likely to benefit from it tomorrow.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty declares that no country can claim sovereignty over the Moon and that outer space should remain a shared domain for all humanity. However, the treaty lacks clear mechanisms for managing resource use or regulating commercial operations. In this legal vacuum, countries like the U.S., Luxembourg, and the UAE have already passed national laws allowing private companies to extract and profit from space resources.

At the same time, new agreements such as the Artemis Accords are emerging to promote coordinated norms for lunar activity. Yet major players like China and Russia are not part of these frameworks, increasing the risk of fragmented legal standards and geopolitical tension.

Even though humanity doesn’t yet have direct access to the Moon’s surface for permanent use, this is precisely the moment when its future is being shaped—legally, politically, and economically. Discussing ownership now isn’t just relevant; it’s necessary. The rules written today will define who benefits from the Moon’s resources tomorrow.