这里的“探索和利用”被自然的解释为包括“开采(exploitation)”(Frans von der Dunk 2015)。根据该条款,人们认为“不占有原则”虽然不允许主权国家甚至非国家实体对天体及天体表面区域的主权声索,但并不限制对太空资源的商业和科学使用(Sterns & Tennen 2003)。
(埃隆·马斯克是太空商业大潮的翘楚。图:彭博社)
美国在2015年第114届国会上通过了《美国商业太空发射竞争力法案》(U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act),并已获得奥巴马总统签署生效。该法案包含这样的条款,
(Sec 402)
...... ......
A U.S.
citizen
engaged in commercial recovery of an asteroid resource or a space resource shall be entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including to
possess, own, transport, use, and sell
it according to applicable law, including U.S. international obligations.
(Sec. 403) It is the sense of Congress that the United States
does not
, by enactment of this Act,
assert sovereignty
or sovereign or exclusive rights or jurisdiction over, or ownership of, any celestial body.