Who owns an asteroid worth trillions of dollars?
Most people have never considered the question. Investors, entrepreneurs, governments, and legal scholars already are.
In Part 2 of Dr. Sherri Tenpenny’s conversation with Rainer Zitelmann, the discussion moves beyond how private enterprise transformed space exploration and into the economic realities of what comes next. If companies mine asteroids, establish settlements on Mars, or build infrastructure on the Moon, who owns those assets? What laws apply? Who benefits from the resources?
Drawing from New Space Capitalism: The Entrepreneurial Path to the Stars, Zitelmann explores asteroid mining, robotic labor, artificial intelligence, property rights beyond Earth, space tourism, satellite congestion, and the growing debate over ownership in space. The conversation also examines moon landing skepticism, the legal uncertainty surrounding the Outer Space Treaty, and China’s rapidly expanding role in the future of space development.
Questions that once belonged to science fiction are becoming economic and geopolitical realities. The interview introduces the debate. The book goes much deeper into the research, history, economics, and legal frameworks shaping the future.
Important Links:
Book: New Space Capitalism: The Entrepreneurial Path to the Stars
Website: Rainer-Zeitelmann
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