Greetings from California,

Much has happened since we relaunched the Share the Moon initiative in September 2023. We have doubled the number of petition signers and now stand at 1,319. This is a much higher rate than when we first started the petition six years ago. It appears that people are becoming more aware of the issue of space resource utilization and its potential for causing conflict and a repeat of the Age of Imperialism.

The key is to share access to resources rather than create exclusion zones, which are prohibited by the Outer Space Treaty (Article I, free access; Article II, nonappropriation). That is what the Petition to Share the Moon calls for. By contrast, the US House of Representatives just held a hearing to promote the creation of resource exclusion zones. This is a dangerous interpretation of the OST that is rejected by most countries and will be addressed at this year’s special UN conferences on space resources.

The main space resource conference will occur in April in Vienna (UN International Center pictured), with a preliminary gathering in March at Space Resources Week in Luxembourg. I will be at both gatherings as an official observer and will be delivering a keynote speech at Space Resources Week. The primary purpose of these appearances will be to oppose any effort to create resource exclusion zones in outer space. As part of that effort, I will be submitting the Petition to Share the Moon.

You have already signed the Petition. At this crucial moment, we are asking you to share it with your network and ask others to sign it. This is the first known effort to use a petition to influence international space policy. It is essential for policy makers to hear from the people; otherwise, they only hear from those companies and organizations who can afford to engage in direct lobbying with testimony that favors their own economic interests.

Please read the Petition and its updated rationale. If you are still enthusiastic about supporting humanity’s departure from the home world and preventing a new Age of Imperialism, then please share it with your network of contacts. Our efforts so far have helped to create the new UN working group and conference that will consider space resource activity. Now is the time to let them know that outer space resources need to be shared, not fought over. We must maintain peace in outer space if we are going to have any chance to build peace on Earth.

For more information about the UN space resources working group, please read my latest article. To read about and share the Petition to Share the Moon, please visit https://www.change.org/p/share-the-moon.

Thank you very much for your interest and support.