['< sod > the moon agreement ( 1979 - 1984 ) is often treated as though it is not a part of the body of international space law, and there has been extensive debate on whether or not the moon agreement is a valid part of international law. it entered into force in 1984, because of a five state ratification consensus procedure, agreed upon by the members of the fourth united nations committee on peaceful uses of outer space ( copuos ). still today very few nations have signed and / or ratified the moon agreement. in recent years this figure has crept up to a few more than a dozen nations who have signed and ratified the treaty. the other three outer space treaties experienced a high level of close international cooperation in terms of signage and ratification, but the moon treaty went further than them, by defining the common heritage concept in more detail and by imposing specific obligations on the parties engaged in the exploration and / or exploitation of outer space. the moon treaty explicitly explicitly designates the moon and its natural resources as part of the common heritage of mankind. < eod > < sod > the moon agreement ( 1979 - 1984 ) is often treated { { by whom } } as though it is not a part of the body of international space law, and there has been extensive debate on whether or not the moon agreement is a valid part of international law. it entered into force in 1984, because of a full five state ratification consensus procedure, agreed upon by the members of the united nations committee on peaceful uses rules of outer space ( copuos ). still but today very few nations have signed such and / or ratified the moon agreement. in recent years this figure has only crept up to a few more than a dozen nations who have signed and ratified the treaty. the other three outer space treaties experienced a high level share of international cooperation in terms of their signage and ratification, but the moon treaty went further than them, by defining the common heritage concept in more detail and by imposing specific obligations on the parties engaged in the exploration and / or exploitation of outer space. the moon treaty explicitly designates the moon and its natural resources as part of the common heritage of mankind. { { cn } } < eod >']