--- title: "Trump Signs Executive Order Encouraging Moon, Asteroid Mining" description: "President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that encourages the mining of resources in space and on the Moon." date: "2020-04-08" modified: "2020-04-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-executive-order-moon-asteroid-mining" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "asteroid mining" - "donald trump" - "space mining" - "the digest" --- # Trump Signs Executive Order Encouraging Moon, Asteroid Mining ![President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that encourages the mining of resources in space and on the Moon.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Moon Mining **U.S.** President Donald Trump signed an [executive order]() on Monday that encourages the mining of resources in on the Moon and asteroids. "Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law," reads the order. ## Space Law The order stomps on the idea of space being a common resource to be shared among all. "Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons," reads the order. "Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law." ## Not Wrong Russia was frazzled by the executive order. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that "any kind of attempt to privatize space in one form or another — and I find it difficult to say now whether this can be seen as an attempt to privatize space — would be unacceptable," as [quoted by *Kitco News*](). "Attempts to expropriate outer space and aggressive plans to de facto seize the territories of other planets will hardly encourage other nations to participate in fruitful cooperation," said Sergey Savelyev, Roscosmos deputy director responsible for international cooperation, in [a statement](). **READ MORE:** [Trump signs executive order to support moon mining, tap asteroid resources]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on moon mining:** *[NASA’s Collaborating With Caterpillar on Moon Mining Machines]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()