Space resources authorizations explained
Independent research on national authorization acts linked to space-resource activity. Not an official registry.
This tracker documents national acts. Japan grants permissions under its 2021 Act (Japan Space Resources Act permit to ispace for HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (2022), Japan Space Resources Act permit to ispace for Mission 2 (RESILIENCE) (2024)); Luxembourg granted an authorization under its 2017 law (Luxembourg space resources mission authorisation to ispace EUROPE S.A. for the TENACIOUS micro-rover (2024)); the documented U.S. case is an FAA-led payload determination (FAA-led interagency payload review: Moon Express MX-1E (2016)), not a resource permit.
Authorizations in this dataset
4 authorizations| Country | Holder and mission | Instrument | Granted | Linked mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | FAA-led interagency payload review: Moon Express MX-1E (2016)Holder: Moon Express, Inc. | Favorable payload determination | 2016Granted | Moon Express MX-1E first lunar mission (Google Lunar XPRIZE attempt)Not flown (stalled) |
| Japan | Japan Space Resources Act permit to ispace for HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (2022)Holder: ispace, inc. | Space resources authorization | 2022-11-04Granted | HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (ispace M1 lander)Flew. Outcome: failure |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg space resources mission authorisation to ispace EUROPE S.A. for the TENACIOUS micro-rover (2024)Holder: ispace EUROPE S.A. | Space resources authorization | 2024-11-22Granted | TENACIOUS micro-rover (ispace-EUROPE)Flew. Outcome: failure |
| Japan | Japan Space Resources Act permit to ispace for Mission 2 (RESILIENCE) (2024)Holder: ispace, inc. | Space resources authorization | 2024-12-17Granted | SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (ispace Mission 2, RESILIENCE lander)Flew. Outcome: failure |