Press The past 40 years, and the past two decades in particular, have seen space activities transformed, as a thriving private sector has moved into what had been almost entirely the province of governments. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is excellent at defining responsibilities of member states not to militarize space nor appropriate territory on celestial bodies, for instance — but understandably it fails to anticipate the extent and nature of commercial operations.
Because space belongs to no one, problems are emerging. Two issues stand out in particular as needing legal clarification: space mining and space pollution.
Source: Private sector navigates outer space ahead of international law | Financial Times
