GoKawiilSpace law professor warns moon lacks regulation for commercial payloads
Georgetown space law professor Steve Mirmina argues in a new paper, published Sept. 19 in Air and Space Law, that no US agency has legal authority to regulate what companies send to the lunar surface. He cites examples including Celestis's $3,495 pet-ashes memorials, a beverage company's drink-shaped payload, Jeff Koons's 125 mini-sculptures tied to NFTs, and a crowdfunded cross, noting humans have left roughly 500,000 pounds of material on the moon.
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Mirmina suggests that without a clearer legal framework, commercial activity on the moon could proceed largely unchecked, potentially turning it into what he calls 'Earth's junk drawer.' The 1967 Outer Space Treaty and 2020 Artemis Accords set broad principles but may not address specific payloads, leaving gaps that companies can legally exploit as lunar missions multiply.
- No US agency currently has explicit legal authority to regulate items sent to the moon's surface.
- Commercial lunar payloads have included pet-ash memorials, NFT-linked sculptures and novelty objects like a giant cross.
- A new academic paper calls for a more sustainable legal framework to prevent unregulated accumulation of debris on the moon.
Source: cnet.com — Joe Supan, 2026-10-04
Published there as: “Why the Moon Is a Legal Wild West”
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