Senate Quietly Passes Bipartisan Bill To Allow Conquest Of Space [1]

Extraterrestrial ‘Finders Keepers’ law allows US citizens and companies to legally claim ‘abiotic’ natural resources including water and minerals.

In a bipartisan bid to encourage commercial exploitation of outer space, the U.S. Senate this week unanimously passed [2] the Space Act of 2015 [3], which grants U.S. citizens or corporations the right to legally claim non-living natural resources—including water and minerals—mined in the final frontier.

The legislation—described [4] by IGN‘s Jenna Pitcher as “a celestial ‘Finders Keepers’ law”—could be a direct affront to an international treaty that bars nations from owning property in space. The bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives, which is expected [5] to approve the changes, and then on to President Barack Obama for his anticipated signature.