COSMIC GOVERNANCE: ADVANCING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE LUNAR DEVELOPMENT

As Earth’s resources are diminishing and concerns about sustainable growth are rising, humankind is obligated to explore new perimeter for eradication. Space mining[1] represents a life-changing perimeter in resource extraction, contributing the potential to reform industries by providing connection to bountiful outer-space resources. These perimeters attract with promises of indescribable riches in precious metals, rare – elements and even water. Space mining, once referred as speculative fiction, has emerged as a feasible solution for attestation of resource security and expediting future space exploration. As space exploration and development accelerate, ensuring sustainable practices is crucial for maintaining the outer-space environment and enabling long-term human presence. Likewise, including sustainable lunar development with space mining, represents very crucial advancements in humankind’s exploration, utilization of outer-space resources and it also highlights the regulative system to maintain a desired state without further human interaction, to support long-term human presence in outer-space. This research also investigates the technological, economic, and environmental dimensions of mining celestial bodies, with a particular emphasis on the Moon. The paper, likewise examines the legal and ethical frameworks for developing the governance on outer-space mining activities and for responsible resource management, as it also accelerates the questions of ownership upon outer-space resources. This surrounding complex issues also examines the tension within international law, national interest and private enterprise. As, the international space law has not evolved since the times of cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States[2]. Therefore, in the other hand, it also addresses the environmental costs of expanding humankind's reach into space, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework for appraising the ecological footprint [3]by rocket launches, engaging with the emission from carbon-burning engines and their impact on Earth's atmosphere. This paper aims to analyse mainly upon evolution of space law, addressing space mining and sustainable lunar development[4]. Also, the change in to overall environmental impact from space mining, and is there any need for international authority for cosmic governance.