Who owns the moon?

While there has only been a single trip to the moon involving humans, some groups view our only natural satellite as a hunk of resources waiting to be mined. In her article "Who owns the moon?" Dr Saskia Vermeylen provides an overview of the current laws and agreements governing moon property rights and how they might be handled based on current laws and treaties.It's important to note there is another preceding treaty currently signed and ratified by a majority of nations. The 1967 "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" was designed to exclude using the moon as a base for weapons and also to limit national appropriation of moon property.It may not be long until a new treaty needs to be discussed. Though current propulsion systems are not capable of bringing sufficient minerals back from the moon (or asteroids) to make the trip profitable, with current efforts focused on space tourism and transport, the need for more efficient methods to break free of Earth's gravity has never been more valuable. With intelligence and money being thrown at the problem, we should expect more efficient engines or alternatives within the next decade. There are many theories being researched that include space elevators, skyhooks, rail guns, and (safely) blasting it out of the atmosphere with lasers.Add in research going into the 3D printing of buildings and tools from moon resources and the cost and materials required to start a moon-mining operation could decrease very quickly. Once companies are able to safely forecast a price per kilogram transport fee low enough to provide a profit margin, efforts to begin operations will begin. It isn't a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".One more thing to consider is the future of the space programs are probably tied tightly to the adoption of renewable energy. No matter which form of energy is used, we currently trade energy as a finite resource. As petroleum alternatives come down in price, all forms of energy should come down, making propulsion fuels less expensive.