BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Federation of German Industries (BDI) has drawn attention to the need for a national regulatory framework to govern mining activities in outer space, Welt newspaper first reported on Tuesday.

In a draft position paper seen by Xinhua, the BDI highlighted that falling costs for space exploration meant that harvesting valuable resources from asteroids and other planets was an increasingly realistic prospect for private sector companies. The lobby group argued that these extraterrestrial mining activities offered the "key to several future challenges faced by humanity".

Given the "investment-friendly" environment currently enjoyed by the industry, early stage missions to investigate the existence of minerals such as gold and platinum on asteroids were scheduled to be concluded as soon as 2020. The BDI noted that around 20 countries had already reacted to this trend by establishing regulatory frameworks which provided the necessary legal certainty to engage in commercial space exploration.

The position paper urged the federal government in Berlin to deliver on a promise enshrined in its coalition agreement to enact a new "space law" in Germany as well. Embedded in a wider government strategy for space exploration, the BDI also called for companies to gain access to public subsidies and credit facilities to promote related innovation and investment.

According to the BDI, Germany's industrial manufacturers already occupied a leading position in the development of space exploration technologies. The position paper emphasized the country's expertise in extraterrestrial robotics, transportation and cartography, as well as the excellent international reputation of mining equipment built by German engineers.

As a consequence, Germany could already access "the relevant expertise for nearly all necessary technologies of space mining in theory and practice today". Nevertheless, the BDI simultaneously warned that legislative and financial assistance would be needed for domestic companies to persist in the face of stiff competition.

Other countries, including the United States and Luxembourg are also eyeing the prize of securing a mineral bounty from outer space and taking concrete steps to achieving this goal. Contrastingly, the BDI lamented, private space exploration initiatives in Germany were being "hindered or even nipped in the bud" by the lack of an appropriate regulatory framework.