In their Policy Forum “U.S. policy puts the safe development of space at risk” (9 October, p. 174), A. Boley and M. Byers claim that U.S. plans to purchase a small amount of commercial Moon resources put the safe development of space at risk. To the contrary, U.S. actions are poised to help jumpstart a new age of space innovation that has the potential to bring scientific and economic benefits to the whole world. There is no global consensus on international regulation of space mining. The Moon Agreement and other related recent attempts have been widely rejected. The United States has led negotiations on the Artemis Accords on a bilateral basis, but it will be a multilateral agreement, with Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Luxembourg, and the United Arab Emirates joining in October ([ 1 ][1]). The Accords can form a foundation for a future global framework, which ensures all nations can access the resources of outer space. Environmental management and standards are essential to space mining but are not guaranteed by international regulatory models. International space law already requires, or encourages, national regulation with regard to planetary protection, avoiding harmful contamination, and discouraging harmful interference ([ 2 ][2]). U.S. leadership in the space environment can help ensure that sustainability is engrained in the space mining industry from the start. Early national regulation can facilitate sustainable space mining innovation; it does not inhibit it. Boley and Byers point to the management of the deep seabed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as an alternative global model for sustainable resource use. However, decades later, that model has still not been successful. No commercial deep-sea mining has occurred in the High Seas, the benefit sharing mechanism is not established, and the system has struggled to define environmental management standards. A global approach may eventually emerge, but it is better to begin by stimulating the market and implementing imperfect regulation than to wait. 1. [↵][3]National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “NASA, international partners advanced cooperation with first signings of the Artemis Accords” (2020). 2. [↵][4]1. S. W. Anderson, 2. K. Christensen, 3. J. LaManna , J. Energ. Nat. Resourc. Law 37, 227 (2019). [OpenUrl][5] [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [4]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ.%2BEnerg.%2BNat.%2BResourc.%2BLaw%26rft.volume%253D37%26rft.spage%253D227%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx