India’s Chandrayaan-3 landing in 2023 made history, but it also revived a bigger question: who owns the moon?

Legally, the Outer Space Treaty (1967) prohibits any country from claiming lunar territory, declaring the moon “the province of all mankind.” Yet, the treaty is silent on resource extraction. This grey area has fuelled debates on whether mining and private utilisation are legitimate or a disguised form of ownership.

The Moon Agreement (1984) tried to call lunar resources the “common heritage of mankind,” but major space powers, including India, never signed it, seeing it as vague and restrictive. Instead, the Artemis Accords (2020), signed by over 55 nations including India, promote transparent and cooperative exploration while permitting resource use. Critics, however, warn that concepts like “safety zones” could evolve into de facto territorial claims.

With the U.S. and allies pursuing lunar bases and China-Russia planning an International Lunar Research Station, the risk of a “first come, first serve” model is real.

India, with its tradition of multilateralism and new space power status, is uniquely placed to bridge competing blocs. The challenge is to ensure that the moon remains a shared frontier, not the next battleground for ownership.