The Only Way to Beat China to the Moon

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The use of outer space is governed by the 19 67 outer space treaty. It designates outer space as the global commons and the province of all human kinds. That means that outer space belongs to you and you and you, and me too. And it can only be used peacefully, and it cannot be used in a way that excludes others. So if you build a lunar base, you have to accommodate some one else's request to visit. Under such a document, there's no such thing as like exclusive private property rights, or exclusive mining concessions, or things like that.

Paris Marx is joined by Julie Michelle Klinger to discuss the myths around rare earth elements and how they’re fueling a movement to enclose and mine space. But a better, more collaborative future that treats space as a commons is still possible, and the Global South may show us the way forward.

Julie Michelle Klinger is the author of “Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes” and an Assistant Professor of Geography & Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her argument about why space is not the final frontier was recently published on urbanNext. Follow Julie on Twitter as @Prof_Klinger.

Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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