Space Greed

Space is home to crucial resources, important discoveries, and big potential profit; examining whether outer space could become a place where billionaires and mega-corporations operate above and out of the reach of the law.

Human needs have always created opportunities for human greed; energy might be the most crucial need of all; if, one day, an ambitious corporation was able to control the sun, could there end up being a subscription fee for sunlight?

Once humans have managed to get a handle on building structures to live on the harsh, dangerous surfaces of other celestial bodies, what is to stop them from trying to change entire planets to suit their needs?

There are only a handful of rocket launches every year, but that could change; each rocket that gets fired off has an impact on the atmosphere; Earth may not be able to survive hundreds, or even thousands, of fuel-burning rocket launches every year.

The moon is rich in rare earths, metals, and the highly sought-after isotope Helium 3; with NASA planning to make a manned return trip to the moon by 2024, some giant corporation could turn moon dust into a cosmic-sized payday.

Running out of crucial resources and materials is only a matter of time; the asteroids flying through the solar system contain tons of precious metals, stones, and more; the astronomical profits from mining asteroids could all hype.

Some sci-fi shocks audiences with images of powerful aliens invading and destroying Earth; what if humans are actually the invasive alien species?

It happened once, and it took out the dinosaurs, it's only a matter of time before it happens again; the next time another space rock jeopardizes Earth, private space companies and their spacecrafts may not be enough to save the day.

Exploring all the ways in which wars in space might be fought and who stands to make a pretty penny developing space-age weaponry.

For the first 50 years of spaceflight, most nations broadly agree that space is common heritage, that it belonged to everybody.

Billionaires suggest that moving toxic or pollution-heavy industries to space is a potential means of protecting the planet.

Billionaires have reasons for their multi-billion dollar investment in space exploration.

The unique perspective offered by satellites allows people to track the weather.

Between advanced satellites and tons of precious resources the future of space exploration looks to be highly profitable.

The unique properties of space make it ideal for some world-changing scientific experiments.

The Panama Papers, offshore banking, Swiss banks and Dubai; for the ultra-wealthy, one of the fun parts of making money is avoiding taxes on it; whether it's mining asteroids or making rockets to reach them, space could be an astronomical payday.

As private space entrepreneurs develop superfast propulsion systems, it might one day be possible for a corporation to take full advantage of the time-bending science of special relativity.

Scientists develop super-efficient living quarters for astronauts.

Several space entrepreneurs and corporations are developing advanced networks of satellites.

Scientists are developing strange, cutting-edge ways to use naturally occurring resources like space rocks and astronaut blood to make deep space missions or long-term space colonies possible.