I&#x27;m not trying to say anything about original owners or inhabitants. My only point is that its nonsensical to say that you can mine an asteroid and cast off the slag without saying you haven&#x27;t laid claim to it. Having the right to control use of or destroy an object is as good a definition of ownership as any I know of, and that&#x27;s precisely what you&#x27;re claiming when you mine an asteroid. I guess I should have just said that, instead...