Under the Outer Space Transport Compact of 2038 (OSTC), any commercial vessel operating in cislunar space or beyond is legally required to accept a documented distressed traveller on request, provided the vessel has life support capacity to accommodate an additional person. This provision exists to ensure that no traveller is left stranded without a means of return in the event of a genuine emergency. Mining transport operators at Moon Base 7, Ceres Waystation, and the outer system waypoints are bound by the OSTC.

What the OSTC provides is passage, not service. Mining transports are working cargo vessels. The crew section where a distressed passenger would berth is functional but not designed for guest comfort: a fold-down bunk in a shared crew cabin, access to the galley (standard crew rations, no dietary options), and use of the crew lavatory facilities. There is no passenger lounge, entertainment system, or medical bay beyond basic first aid. Some transports have intermittent communications relay; others do not.

The more significant issue is routing. A mining transport's schedule is determined by its cargo manifest, not your destination. A Ceres-based transport heading toward the inner system might route via the Vesta processing station, conduct two or three cargo transfers, and reach cislunar space six to eight weeks after departure. The drop-off point will typically be a cislunar transfer station — not Earth surface. Passengers will need to arrange their own final descent from the transfer station, which adds additional cost and time.

The cost of transit under the OSTC is technically zero — the compact does not permit mining operators to charge a distressed traveller for passage. However, this does not mean the experience is free in any practical sense: the weeks of lost time, the cost of return from the transfer station, and any meals or personal necessities beyond what the crew galley provides are entirely at the passenger's expense.

Pelorus Voyages strongly recommends purchasing the Extraction Coverage add-on before departure. The extraction add-on covers charter pickup costs up to the applicable tier cap, which in almost every scenario results in a faster return in significantly better conditions than a mining transport. The mining transport option exists and is legal recourse, but it should be considered a last resort, not a plan.
