Utilization of the natural resources of outer space is an interesting vision that is likely to become a reality in the not too distant future.
Yet, the current international legal framework that would regulate such use is far from being equipped for the challenges that these activities will pose. The only directly relevant space treaty in this regard, the socalled Moon Treaty of 1979, was drafted in a quite different world; moreover, only 10 countries have ratified the Treaty, and none of these can be considered a major spacefaring nation. Utilization of deep seabed resources represents an area of activities and problems analogous to those anticipated in the case of outer space. However, the law of the sea has been far more successful in solving such problems in its area than space law has in its own. Particularly noteworthy are the innovative amendments to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which were able to accommodate the concerns of the industrialized states and could thus yield guidelines for the future development of the law of outer space where natural resource utilization is concerned. With such applications in mind, the author examines the history of and legal solutions adopted in these two fields of international law and undertakes to determine the areas in which the law of the sea could serve as an example for new rules in space