Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon

Article 1

1. The provisions of this Agreement relating to the moon shall also apply
to other celestial bodies within the solar system, other than the earth,
except in so far as specific legal norms enter into force with respect to
any of these celestial bodies.

2. For the purposes of this Agreement reference to the moon shall include
orbits around or other trajectories to or around it.

3. This Agreement does not apply to extraterrestrial materials which
reach the surface of the earth by natural means.

Article 2

All activities on the moon, including its exploration and use, shall be
carried out in accordance with international law, in particular the
Charter of the United Nations , and taking into account the Declaration on
Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and
Co-operation Among States in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 October 1970, in the
interests of maintaining international peace and security and promoting
international co-operation and mutual understanding, and with due regard
to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties.

Article 3

1. The moon shall be used by all States Parties exclusively for peaceful
purposes.

2. Any threat or use of force or any other hostile act or threat of
hostile act on the moon is prohibited. It is likewise prohibited to use
the moon in order to commit any such act or to engage in any such threat
in relation to the earth, the moon, spacecraft, the personnel of
spacecraft or man-made space objects.

3. States Parties shall not place in orbit around or other trajectory to
or around the moon objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of
weapons of mass destruction or place or use such weapons on or in the
moon.

4. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications,
the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres
on the moon shall be forbidden. The use of military personnel for
scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes shall not be
prohibited. The use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful
exploration and use of the moon shall also not be prohibited.

Article 4

1. The exploration and use of the moon shall be the province of all
mankind and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of
all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific
development. Due regard shall be paid to the interests of present and
future generations as well as to the need to promote higher standards of
living and conditions of economic and social progress and development in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations .

2. States Parties shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and
mutual assistance in all their activities concerning the exploration and
use of the moon. International co-operation in pursuance of this
Agreement should be as wide as possible and may take place on a
multilateral basis, on a bilateral basis or through international
intergovernmental organizations.

Article 5

1. States Parties shall inform the Secretary-General of the United
Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community,
to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of their activities
concerned with the exploration and use of the moon. Information on the
time, purposes, locations, orbital parameters and duration shall be given
in respect of each mission to the moon as soon as possible after
launching, while information on the results of each mission, including
scientific results, shall be furnished upon completion of the mission. In
the case of a mission lasting more than thirty days, information on
conduct of the mission, including any scientific results, shall be given
periodically at thirty days’ intervals. For missions lasting more than
six months, only significant additions to such information need be
reported thereafter.

2. If a State Party becomes aware that another State Party plans to
operate simultaneously in the same area of or in the same orbit around or
trajectory to or around the moon, it shall promptly inform the other
State of the timing of and plans for its own operations.

3. In carrying out activities under this Agreement, States Parties shall
promptly inform the Secretary-General, as well as the public and the
international scientific community, of any phenomena they discover in
outer space, including the moon, which could endanger human life or
health, as well as of any indication of organic life.

Article 6

1. There shall be freedom of scientific investigation on the moon by all
States Parties without discrimination of any kind, on the basis of
equality and in accordance with international law.

2. In carrying out scientific investigations and in furtherance of the
provisions of this Agreement, the States Parties shall have the right to
collect on and remove from the moon samples of its mineral and other
substances. Such samples shall remain at the disposal of those States
Parties which caused them to be collected and may be used by them for
scientific purposes. States Parties shall have regard to the desirability
of making a portion of such samples available to other interested States
Parties and the international scientific community for scientific
investigation. States Parties may in the course of scientific
investigations also use mineral and other substances of the moon in
quantities appropriate for the support of their missions.

3. States Parties agree on the desirability of exchanging scientific and
other personnel on expeditions to or installations on the moon to the
greatest extent feasible and practicable.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon 2, Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon 3, Atmosphere and Space conventions, Charter of the United Nations, Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990.