On September 16, 2024, Professor Matthew Schaefer served as a panelist (remote) on an International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference panel taking place in Mexico City titled "Does the Future of Mining Lie in Space?" The conference was co-sponsored by the Space Law Committee and Mining Law Committee.
His remarks focused on the Artemis Accords' principles dealing with space resources and safety zones, the U.S. 2015 Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act, and international trade issues connected with future trade in products containing minerals from space as well as the importance of global markets to the business case for space minerals returned to Earth.
