united-states space
Legality of space colonization
<p>Let's assume that I have all the resources to be able to travel to Mars or any other celestial body and colonize it. It is legal to colonize celestials bodies in space?</p>

<p>I think I read once that by international law, no country can colonize space. Is this true? If it is, will it apply to me as citizen of United States?</p>

<p>The main treaty here is the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Outer Space Treaty</a> and its implementation in US law.  For your purposes, the relevant sections of the treaty are Article II:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Article VI:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities...The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty...</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and Article VIII:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such an object, and over any personnel thereof...</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Article II means that setting up your colony doesn't give you ownership over the land it sits on (and Article XII permits anyone to stop by for a visit at any time), but it doesn't outlaw setting up a permanent base.</p>

<p>And I hope your "all the resources" includes a small army of lawyers.  Between them, Article VI and Article VIII make the United States government responsible for anything you do in space, so there's a <em>lot</em> of paperwork involved in getting permission to do anything above the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%A1rm%C3%A1n_line" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Karman line</a>.</p>

<p>I don't think it's entirely regulated yet.</p>

<p>The Article II of the <a href="http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/outerspacetreaty.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Outer Space Treaty</a> states that <em>"Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means."</em> And the article VII says that the only ownership that a state can have is on the artifacts used to get there or constructed there.</p>

<p>In theory, you can build your personal dome on Mars and live there, but you can't appropiate a single molecule, so extracting water or stone for personal use could be legally troublesome.</p>

<p>There is, however, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Space_Launch_Competitiveness_Act_of_2015" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015</a> (complete text <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262/text" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>), that allows US citizens to <em>"engage in the commercial exploration and exploitation of 'space resources'"</em>. This may be a US' step toward colonization, but it obviously violates the Outer Space Treaty, and both may be overriden soon by a future act, written to suit corporative interests rather than political ones, judging by the commercial twist space exploration is taking.</p>
