Based on current legislative activity, committee jurisdiction, and national space law posture, these eight decision-makers represent the highest-probability supporters of the Mars Private Settlement and Citizenship Recognition Act and its international equivalent in 2026. Each letter is individually tailored to their specific interests, jurisdiction, and publicly stated positions.
You have stated plainly that if the United States does not lead in commercial space, Americans returning to the Moon may find a "No Trespassing" sign written in Mandarin. The Mars Land Authority writes to you today because the same logic applies, with even greater urgency, to Mars — and because the window in which Congress can establish the legal architecture that ensures American citizens lead the governance of that planet is closing fast.
The Mars Land Authority is a private civilian territorial registry established in 2026. We have registered citizens across more than forty nations. We maintain a publicly accessible parcel registry using NASA MOLA geodetic data. We have filed formal notice with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. We operate pursuant to a published Declaration of Martian Sovereignty, a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, and a governance framework designed to be consistent with U.S. law and democratic values. We are, in short, exactly the kind of private American space enterprise your Committee has spent years trying to encourage.
"We want to put the Department of Commerce in charge of mission authorization for space
activities… If the United States seeks to be the 'forum of choice' for space operators, it is
critical that we facilitate space commerce by establishing an appropriate framework for commercial
space operators when working with the federal government."
— Chairman Babin, Commercial Space Conference, 2025
Chairman, we are asking you to be that framework. SpaceX has targeted October 2026 for its first Mars launch window. The moment those Starships land, the question of who governs the territory around them will become an immediate practical matter — not a hypothetical for future Congresses. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 was visionary in addressing resource extraction rights. What does not yet exist is equally visionary legislation addressing the rights of private citizens to organize civil governance, register territorial claims, and hold dual civic identity on Mars.
We are respectfully requesting that your Committee consider introduction of the Mars Private Settlement and Citizenship Recognition Act of 2026, a draft of which is enclosed. This legislation would: authorize good-faith private territorial registries under U.S. law; extend the property rights framework of the 2015 SPACE Act to registered claims; expressly affirm that voluntary registration with a private Mars citizenship organization does not constitute renunciation of U.S. nationality; and direct the Department of Commerce to consult with such organizations in international negotiations. It is a natural and overdue extension of the commercial space framework your Committee has been building.
We would be honored to brief your staff at any time convenient to the Committee and to provide whatever additional documentation or testimony might be useful. The first Martians are alive today. They are American citizens. Your Committee has the opportunity to ensure that when they step onto Mars, the law steps with them.
In 2017, you chaired a landmark subcommittee hearing asking whether the Outer Space Treaty could accommodate private American commerce in space. That hearing helped establish the intellectual foundation for what became the modern commercial space framework. We write today because the next question — the one your Committee is uniquely positioned to answer — is whether that framework extends to private civilian governance on Mars.
The Mars Land Authority is a private civilian organization that has registered citizens from over forty nations, assigned NASA-coordinate-verified territorial parcels, and filed formal notice with the United Nations. We are exactly what the 2015 SPACE Act was designed to encourage: American private enterprise operating at the frontier of the possible. What we lack is the legislative clarity that would allow us, and the thousands of American citizens we represent, to know that their Mars territorial registrations have standing in U.S. law.
"Space is the next frontier of American innovation. With our chief adversary China working
to seriously compete in space, it is even more critical that America remains the most advanced
nation on the globe when it comes to our space capabilities."
— Chairman Cruz, 2025
Chairman, China is not debating whether private citizens may register territorial interests on Mars. China is building rockets. The United States wins this competition not merely by launching more hardware but by creating the legal and civic architecture that makes American governance the default framework for the first Martian community. The Mars Private Settlement and Citizenship Recognition Act of 2026 — enclosed herewith — does precisely that. It is a direct parallel to the SPACE Act: just as that Act affirmed American rights in extracted resources, this Act affirms American rights in territorial registration and civic organization. Both rest on the same constitutional and treaty foundation.
We note with particular appreciation your Committee's inclusion in the recent NASA Authorization bill of provisions directing the Administrator to advance human Mars exploration. That ambition requires civilian governance infrastructure to precede and accompany it — not follow it. We respectfully request a hearing before your Committee at which the Mars Land Authority, space law scholars, and commercial space operators could present the case for this legislation and receive your guidance on how best to advance it.
Your district is home to NASA Ames. You have co-led the NASA Reauthorization Act that commits America to human Mars exploration. You understand, as well as any Member of Congress, that the mission to Mars will involve not only government astronauts but private American citizens — and that those citizens will need legal protections, civic identities, and governance frameworks that current law does not provide.
The Mars Land Authority is a private civilian organization registering territorial claims and civic memberships for people who believe in a human future on Mars. We write to you because our work raises questions that are fundamentally bipartisan: questions of individual rights, civil liberties, and the protection of American citizens in an unprecedented legal environment. The Mars Private Settlement and Citizenship Recognition Act of 2026 — which we are simultaneously presenting to Chairman Babin — contains provisions we believe you will find compelling on both sides of the aisle.
Most importantly: Section 7 of our proposed bill expressly affirms that a U.S. citizen who voluntarily registers with a private Mars citizenship organization does not, by that act, renounce their American citizenship. This is a civil liberties protection. It ensures that no American is penalized — in employment, security clearances, federal benefits, or any other context — simply because they chose to invest in humanity's future on another planet. We believe that protecting the dual civic identity of American citizens who choose to become Martian citizens is as much a civil rights matter as it is a space policy matter.
We also note that equal access to Mars citizenship — regardless of nationality, race, gender, or economic status beyond the basic registry fee — is a founding principle of our organization. The governance framework we are building is one of universal civic equality, not planetary colonialism. We are building something new — and we are asking Congress to build the legal foundation with us.
Your amendment to the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026 — championing the "fullest commercial use of space" including by private citizens — passed by voice vote. It is a statement of congressional intent. The Mars Land Authority writes to ask: what legislation will give that intent teeth?
Your district includes Kennedy Space Center. You represent the congressional district from which more rockets have launched toward Mars than anywhere else on Earth. The private citizens who will eventually live on Mars — or whose children will — are purchasing their place in that future right now. They deserve the same legal certainty that mining operators received from the 2015 SPACE Act. They deserve to know that their territorial registrations, their Mars citizenship documents, and their civic identity on the Red Planet are protected by U.S. law.
Amendment passed by voice vote, H.R. 7273, February 2026: encouraging the "fullest commercial use of space" including by the "growing and enduring presence of private citizens in Earth orbit, in cislunar space, on the surface of the Moon, and beyond."
"And beyond" is precisely where we operate. The Mars Private Settlement and Citizenship Recognition Act of 2026 is the natural follow-on to your amendment — it translates that congressional encouragement into binding legal authorization. We are requesting the opportunity to brief your Subcommittee staff and to explore whether this legislation might be advanced through your Subcommittee as a companion measure to the broader NASA Reauthorization. The timing — coinciding with the 2026 SpaceX Mars launch window — could not be more propitious.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg stands as the most progressive nation on Earth in its legal recognition of private rights in space. Your 2017 Space Resources Act — the first in Europe to declare that space resources are capable of private appropriation — demonstrated precisely the kind of legislative courage that the international space governance community requires at this critical juncture. The Mars Land Authority writes to you as a natural partner in the next step of that courageous journey.
We are a private civilian territorial registry and civic organization with registered citizens across more than forty nations. We maintain parcel registrations using NASA MOLA geodetic data, operate pursuant to a published Declaration of Sovereignty and Bill of Rights, and have filed formal notice with UNOOSA. We are proposing that the UN General Assembly adopt a resolution recognizing good-faith private extraterrestrial registries and extending the logic of the Luxembourg law — and the U.S. SPACE Act — to questions of private territorial governance on celestial bodies.
Luxembourg is, we believe, the ideal co-sponsor for such a resolution. Your nation has demonstrated both the legal courage and the international credibility — evidenced by the European Space Resources Innovation Centre, your MOU network with the UAE and Japan, and your active participation in COPUOS — to champion this initiative in Vienna. We are enclosing a full draft resolution and proposed principles, and we respectfully request a meeting at your Agency's offices or by videoconference to explore whether Luxembourg would be willing to introduce, or co-sponsor with the United States, this resolution at the 81st General Assembly.
The MLA's citizens include Luxembourg nationals. We are proud of that, and we would be proud to have the world's most forward-thinking space nation as our advocate at the United Nations.
The United Arab Emirates has achieved in less than a decade what took other nations generations: a space program that has placed the Hope probe in Martian orbit, signed the Artemis Accords, enacted a federal space law that is among the most progressive in the world, and committed $820 million to space development through 2028. The UAE's ambition is Mars. The Mars Land Authority shares that ambition — and writes today to propose a partnership that serves both.
The UAE Federal Space Law of 2019 is remarkable in one specific provision: it expressly requires your Agency to "support the conclusion of international agreements that help achieve the objectives" of the law. The Mars Land Authority is proposing precisely such an international agreement — a UN General Assembly resolution establishing a framework for private extraterrestrial territorial registries and civic organizations. We believe the UAE is not only permitted but legally directed to engage with us on this proposal.
UAE Federal Law 12 of 2019 expressly requires the Emirates Space Agency to "suggest concluding bilateral or international agreements with the relevant entities in the Space Sector" — making international engagement with good-faith private space organizations a statutory obligation.
We note that the UAE was among the first Artemis Accords signatories, that its Hope probe has produced the most comprehensive Mars atmospheric dataset in history, and that its planned 2028 asteroid mission represents the most ambitious UAE space undertaking to date. A nation with Mars ambitions of this scale has every reason to ensure that the international legal framework governing Mars civilian settlement reflects values it supports: private enterprise, international cooperation, and an inclusive vision of humanity's multi-planetary future.
We respectfully request a meeting with your Agency to explore UAE co-sponsorship of our proposed UN resolution, a bilateral framework agreement between MLA and the UAE Space Agency, and the possibility of UAE nationals who hold MLA citizenship being recognized under a pilot program that could serve as a model for other Artemis Accord signatories.
Japan's Space Resources Act of 2021 contains a provision that distinguishes it from all similar national legislation: it explicitly mandates that the Government of Japan "engage with the international community to facilitate a consistent system wherein people can develop space resources." This is not merely encouragement — it is a statutory obligation. The Mars Land Authority writes to the Space Policy Committee because we believe we represent exactly the kind of international engagement that obligation contemplates.
We are proposing a UN General Assembly resolution — enclosed herewith — that would establish a framework for private extraterrestrial territorial registries and civic organizations. The resolution's proposed principles are explicitly designed to be consistent with Japan's Space Resources Act, the U.S. SPACE Act, the Luxembourg Space Resources Law, and the Artemis Accords, all of which Japan has supported. Japan was also among the initial eight Artemis Accords signatories — a framework that explicitly states that resource extraction on Mars "does not constitute national appropriation" under the Outer Space Treaty.
We note Japan's extraordinary contributions to Mars science and exploration through JAXA partnerships, the Hayabusa asteroid sample return programs, and participation in the Artemis Gateway. A Japan that leads the development of international private settlement law — alongside its leadership in space science and exploration — would cement its position as the defining voice in the governance of humanity's multi-planetary future. We respectfully request a consultation with the Space Policy Committee to explore Japan's potential co-sponsorship of our proposed resolution at the 81st UN General Assembly, and to receive the Committee's guidance on how our proposed principles can be strengthened to reflect Japanese legal tradition and values.
Pursuant to standard procedures for non-governmental organizations engaging with the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the Mars Land Authority hereby provides formal notice of its establishment, submits an application for NGO Observer Status with COPUOS and its subcommittees, and presents a working paper on private extraterrestrial governance for consideration by the Legal Subcommittee's Working Group on Space Resources.
The Mars Land Authority is a private extraterrestrial territorial registry and civic organization established in 2026. We have registered voluntary citizens from more than forty nations, assigned parcel coordinates using NASA MOLA geodetic data, issued governance documents including a Declaration of Sovereignty and a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, and are actively pursuing recognition by Member States. We operate with full transparency regarding the current legal status of our activities, including explicit disclosure to all registrants that our claims are forward-value interests in a future governance framework rather than legally equivalent to existing property rights under any Earth legal system. We are the definition of a good-faith private extraterrestrial civic organization.
We call your attention to the urgent need for COPUOS to address the legal vacuum regarding private civilian settlement on Mars. SpaceX has publicly committed to a Mars launch window in October 2026. The Working Group on Space Resources is currently drafting recommended principles for space resource activities — an admirable effort, but one that does not yet encompass the questions of private territorial registration, private civic organization, or the dual citizenship of persons who hold both Earth nationality and voluntary membership in a private extraterrestrial governance body. These questions will not wait for the next treaty revision cycle. They will arrive with the first landing.
We enclose a proposed working paper — drafted as a contribution to the Working Group's deliberations — that presents seven recommended principles for private extraterrestrial governance. We also enclose a draft UN General Assembly resolution that, if sponsored by willing Member States, would establish the Working Group this community needs. We are prepared to present both documents to the Legal Subcommittee at its next session in any format the Secretariat deems appropriate, whether as a side event, a written submission, or, if Observer Status is granted, as a formal contribution to Working Group deliberations.
The international legal community has, throughout history, been most effective when it anticipates challenges rather than reacts to them. The governance of Mars is the defining legal challenge of this generation. COPUOS was created for precisely this kind of moment. The Mars Land Authority exists to help meet it. We respectfully request your guidance on the Observer Status application process and the appropriate channel for submitting our working paper.