Extraterrestrial Real Estate for Sale 230
Tom Mulcahy pointed us over to The Lunar Embassy. Yes, that's right. You can purchase real estate on the Moon, Io, Venus, Mars, and, apparently the Universe. Ah, the beauty of capitalism.
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion
LINUX (Score:1)
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
Tom
Must Look Different Up Close (Score:1)
Re:Porn! (Score:1)
//rdj
Re:US doesn't own the moon at all (Score:1)
Re:US doesn't own the moon at all (Score:1)
2) With a large enough telescope, maybe. BUT NO SUCH TELESCOPE EXISTS!!!!!
3) there != their
4) Conceded
Re:ebay (Score:1)
Hmmm... (Score:1)
-----------------------------------------
Re:Antartica? (Score:1)
I also believe there are environmental treaties restricting how Antartica can be exploited, not sure right off the top of my head.
Right now there are a bunch of bases there, basically just research, and a handful of permanent ones, from a few countries. I'm not aware of any actual territorial claims.
The Lunar Embassy (Score:1)
Re:What time zone? (Score:1)
system to Earth times. It is not correct to say that UTC is used in space applications. UTC is mainly used in observations from Earth. However it is not the main standard for times in space probe
communications. There, it is mostly used sideral time and more complex stuff. One of them is to use the planet's "proper" timings.
Presently I only know about one planet carrying a complete timing up to a calendar system: Mars. Due to several constraints people at JPL created and used the Darien calendar. It looks much like Earth's but with clear differences. For example the day, "sol" is a bit longer than Earth's. As far as I know the first use of the Darien calendar was on Viking missions. After that and until Pathfinder's arrival it was nearly forgotten.
Re:I own a piece of the Moon (Score:1)
Also, It doesn't seem to mention how much land you've got. Seems a deed would need this information.
Re:outer space treaty (Score:1)
"Space Command" it maybe, but it's all about watching "them" here on Earth.
Re: Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
No, and neither does Italy. (Italy, more specific the countryside of Genua, is where Columbus came from).
And I'm sure the original Indian tribes put some flags somewhere, or the Normans, or...
Re:International Agreement? (Score:1)
The only thing besides lack of technology holding the corporates from expanding into space is that there isn't any money to be made there... yet. And that's the only reason they'll go, forget the Star Trek crap.
/.'d (Score:1)
Re:I'm just waiting... (Score:1)
Serious advice (Score:2)
It's a good argument to use when negotiating the price
Read the small print (Score:5)
Nobody owns the moon. Ownership is prohibited by a few treaties. Details of the legal aspects of owning the moon can be found off the Artemis Society homepage [asi.org], specifically in the Frequently Raised Objections [asi.org] section.
As an aside, TransOrbital Inc. [transorbital.net] is going to be taking pictures of the moon using a telescope in lunar orbit, so people will be able to have a picture of "their" plot if they choose.
Vik
Re:... (Score:1)
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:2)
After all, if you went there and declared autonomy, who would come stop you?
Lack of food, fuel, and oxygen.
Berlin-- http://www.berlin-consortium.org [berlin-consortium.org]
Annoying profiteering (Score:2)
I'd much rather see people donate money to the Planetary Society. Sure, you don't get a nifty laser printed certificate you can pretend entitles you to interplanetary real estate but maybe you'll fund some useful research.
loophole (Score:1)
Moon Ownership Law (Score:4)
Only problem with the Moon Treaty is that the United States and the other space-faring civilizations refused to sign it.
According to the The Artimis Project [asi.org]:
The Moon is a venue of "lex nullus"; that is, it is identical in legal status to the high seas, meaning that nobody can own it and everybody can go there.
Re:international agreement -- I hope so! (Score:1)
Heck, NJ's Governer Christine Whitman has already started her pioneering steps. Come watch some sports at the Continental Airlines Arena, catch your band at the PNC Bank Arts Center. I'm waiting anxiously to see who buys the right to rename the Great Falls next.
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
Considering the times, (still relatively deep in the Cold War), the only real effect would have been to fuel Communist claims of capitalist expansionism.)
Whoever does actually get their first with a full-blown commerical industrial colony will mostly likely be the first to scrap said treaty, followed by whoever makes it next. As far as I know, the Russians didn't even bother to claim the ice caves they discovered at the lunar pole. Right now making legal decisions on this makes about as much sense as the U.S. positions on cryptography.
Re:Hunka hunka burnin Sun. (Score:1)
Re:Novelty value only (Score:1)
Now, if it says for novelty only on the deed when you get it, couldn't you sue for false advertising ? The web site insists over and over again that it isn't a joke and it's legal.
If it does say that this is a novelty only on the website, I missed it and I would greatly appreciate you letting me know where on the site it says this.
Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
The World's Oldest Profession (Score:2)
Actually, I would like to see who bites onto this one and starts buying up chunks of the moon.
Space Law blocks development of space (Score:3)
Well, I'm fundamentally dependent on Earth for resupply, and I'm quite vulnerable to attack. But there's a much more fundamental problem then that: Because the Outer Space Use treaty and related international law prevent any nation from making a territorial claim in space, private organizations are effectively blocked from going anywhere. We worry about this often over on sci.space.policy and everywhere in the space-advocacy community.
The gist is this: suppose I'm a company that sees some value in putting up a moonbase, or maybe I'm the Artemis Project. I need to put, let's say, $10 billion into accomplishing that. Unfortunately, I'm trying to build something that has no protections whatsoever under national or international law. How do I convince investors this is a good bet? How do I value off-planet property as a corporate asset in an IPO, when I can't even determine legally what my property is? How do I insure against accident? Insurers like to have a really specific notion of what they're getting into. If the Department of Defense decides they need my moonbase more than I do, am I protected by eminent domain laws, or not?
Remember, I'm not just the 6 guys up on the moon protecting their property rights by lobbing rocks at the Capitol building; I'm also the enormous organization back on the ground that got them there. Lack of law makes my life very, very difficult back on Earth.
The folks down at SpaceDev (http://www.spacedev.com) are running a private research mission to an asteroid, and their chances of making it look pretty good right now. If they do, Jim Benson (their CEO) has said he expects to lay claim to it as property. Moved to Earth, its mineral value is probably in the tens of trillions of dollars. Should he get to keep it? We obviously need a system where entrepeneurs get to keep the fruits of their labor, or no one will ever bother with space- as most people aren't bothering now, in the absence of that system. But we don't want people making enormous claims based on minor accomplishments, either, and at some point any large development in space is going to be more than just property; it'll be a nation, or at least a city, too. How do we structure law to enable this, and can we get any new treaty past China's veto anyway? I'd love to hear some new geek ideas.
Re:I own a piece of the Moon (Score:1)
I want the... (Score:1)
worth millions to my great grand children!
Re:Property for sale... (Score:1)
-m
and you thought *that* was a good scam (Score:1)
Another old favorite is the Martian Consulate [martianconsulate.com] page. When they opened, they had a pyramid scheme going. Once you bought land, you could refer friends (read "spam the UseNet with your referral #") and get a percentage of what they pay for their Martian plots, as well as any people they referred, etc. It doesn't look like they're promoting that program anymore, but the order form still asks for your referral number.
import/export laws (Score:2)
Moon (Score:1)
"When the Earth hits your eyes, like a big pizza pie, that's amore'" heh... cool.
Re: Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:2)
Some theories speculate that he was from Norway.
It goes like this: Columbus never actually used the name Columbus himself. He used "Colon", which means "farmer". Around the same time of the first records of his father, a family from one of the oldest royal families in Norway, "Bonde", emigrated due to a power struggle.
"Bonde" is Norwegian for farmer. Also, Columbus weaponshield used the same symbols as the Bonde family, and the family had a connection to Italy.
If that theory holds, the current heirs of the Columbus name can trace their family back to Assyrian royalty somewhere around 1000-500 B.C..
There is record of the ancestors of the Bonde family as Assyrian royalty that migrated through Europe, at some point serving the Pope, then moving through what is now Germany, as part of the Karolingian dynasty, controlling part of Germany. At some point they emigrated again, and became the foundation of one of the oldest known Scandinavian royal families, with lots of power both in Sweden and Norway.
At one point they held the Norwegian throne.
Then, as mentioned before, a part of the family suddenly disappears totally, after a power struggle. And at the same time Christoffer Colon (oddly similar to Kristoffer Bonde - as mentioned, Bonde and Colon has the same meaning), and his father appears in public records in Italy, using the same weapon shield. And Christopher soon develop royal ambitions (claiming the title of "vice king" of any land he discovers). Also, according to several accounts from his lifetime, he had fair or reddish hair, and is very tall.
It's an intriguing thought :-)
If it's true, it means that his current heirs can pretty much give up any thought of spending time of genealogy - that family is extremely well documentet.
(Btw.: All historical detail is a result of my bad memory of a book on the subject... I'm likely to have screwed up details :-)
No one "owns" the Moon (Score:1)
I would imagine that the same applies to all of the other planets,since the cost of getting there far outweighs the (present) commercial rewards.
As for the asteroids, comets and, dare I say it, other _stars_, a similar rule would apply. After all, what hard-headed, capit(a/o)l driven buisness person in this day and age would throw away those sums of money?
No, anyone who goes "out there" will do so in the name of science and exploration first.
It will be at leat 50 years until we see the Moon being exploited for commercial gain.
Low Earth Orbit.. that's another story.. Give it 5 years until the well-heeled will be going there.
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
We own you! (Score:1)
Silly yeah?
But the unfortunate thing is that this already happened. 500 years ago another guy claimed for the crown of Spain a several islands in what was supposed to be the End of the World. And he created a precedent, that, until the beginning of this century, was an epidemia turned one of the greatest tragedies of Mankind. Even the democratic, pluralist and liberal United States of America did not avoid this train. Even now we have a few islands that came into possession of the US through such procedure.
No one asked the people of these lands what did they think of the fact that they belonged to anyone else. No one cared if these lands were completely desertic or had civilizations much older than their new "owners". On the contrary. Every european, asian or american power used all its means to "prove" such ownerships through Ironclad policies. And every resitence or rebellion had to face a terrible fate.
No matter these agreements or treaties, the first space powers (the real ones, those who will start up Space colonisation, if one gets the guts to do it) will just leave them on the shelf. And they will not take a damn about these Outer Space Real Estate dealers. All this is just snake oil. It is playing with everyone who wishes to become Colombus or Lord Sandwich (yeah, it seems there was such a guy). Btw, these new Pizarros and Corteses are doing a silly and unethical play.
The Moon is probably much worser then Mojave or Skeleton beach since its beginning. Mars is probably in a RIP status for quite a long time. Yeah Europe could have some bacteria inside. But I also heard that these unreal estaters sell stars, pieces of galaxy or even whole galaxies.
A warning. The next terminal station can be 10, 100 or 100000000 light years from us. BUT IT IS THERE. No matter we know or don't know about it. And we don't know how alien humour reacts to human dumbiness. Sincerly Clinton once said some harsh words about Mars. Luck no one's there now. But even for a human his words could be measured as highly offensive. To understand the level of what he said there is only the need to change the word "Mars" with any US foe or less friendly state. Had he messed a word (like Reagan once did) and that would be very serious diplomatic trouble.
You may think this sounds silly. Well NO ONE seems to be out there... For now, and here... But if IT IS out there? Or even here and now? What do you think he thinks about us and these stupidities?
International Agreement? (Score:2)
Re:Moon (Score:1)
You'd be as well off trying to buy El Nino.
Futurama (Score:1)
"We don't call it that anymore, astronomers changed the name in the 2200's to avoid that little joke."
"Oh really? What's it called now?"
"Urectum."
Re:What next...? (Score:2)
I can say to you that I will sell you a spot on Mars, but if (someday) you could go to that little spot that I said you own and you find little green men living there, it is no longer thiers?
More or less. At least, that's the way it worked when we screwed over the American Indians.
I would like to sell people little glass vacuum spheres. Then you can say you own nothing, and it is something!
In all seriousness, that's not a bad idea for a novelty gift.
Berlin-- http://www.berlin-consortium.org [berlin-consortium.org]
Re:MS Mars, MS Moon... (Score:2)
Slashdot Mirror! (Score:2)
Neutral Zone?! (Score:1)
> zone.
WHAT? We must have been desprate to risk war with the ROMULANS!!
;)
Seriously though, the idea of any one country "claiming" anything outside of the planet is pretty sickening. Unforunately, while the major countries seem to have restraint, I can certainly see some of the smaller war-like nations trying to claim it for themselves.
Straight from the Lunar FAQ. (Score:3)
Do you believe in the Prime Directive?
Answer
We do. Really. It's more than just a silly rule, but more a philosophy to life. We feel, we all must learn to respect all life, no matter what it looks like or where it came from. Our team has several Star Trek fans, mainly TNG tho, so please don't ask them about what Kirk did in episode 27. Their favorite Trek episodes are The Inner Light (TNG), although the Borg ones as well as All Good Things, rank right up there amongst the top ever, surely. Ah. They don't make them like they used to. Please note, that in honour of Star Trek VIII:"First Contact", the next two Lunar Cities will be named "Tycho-City" and "New-Berlin" as mentioned in the film. Our message is: Live now, because now, will never come again.
What happened to "Live long and prosper"? Who's the star trek fan?
Joseph Elwell.
Re:International Agreement? (Score:4)
So, even if its not technically illegal to claim a piece of the Moon or Mars as your real estate in the US, the claim has no force outside the jurisdiction of the US, and the US is forbidden from extending it's sovereign territory into space. So it's pretty worthless having a claim on the Sea of Tranquility if your claim isn't actually valid there...
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
Land can be occupied. That's what armies are for. They occupy land that their respective countries claim and repel others who claim it.
Which bring us to the problem of the moon. Does the US own the moon, as has been suggested? My invariable answer must be no. The US neither exploiting its resources (any more than anyone else on the planet, anyway), nor occupying it.
The question is would the US attempt to defend the moon from invasion from other sovereign powers? For example, if {insert your least favorite country here - if it's the US insert your second choice} started building a colony on the moon, would the US start a war over it?
Actually, I find it more likely that the US would just send country#2 a bill. Or legislate that no one may build moon colonies. Especially if the name of the moon colony closely resembles the name of a government website.
development costs (Score:1)
Re:the flag... (Score:1)
Actually, the moon flags are kept unfurled by wires hemmed into their edges.
Any flag durable enough to survive any length of time on the moon is going to be too heavy to float as you describe. Anyway, the kind of floating you're talking about relies on air resistance, which is in rather short supply up there.
Re:the flag... (Score:1)
Re:Uh-huh, right. (Score:2)
Re:Novelty value only (Score:1)
Okay, I'm a pedantic bastard.
Re:Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, Terran Branch (Score:1)
No, he'd need at least three medium-sized planets, which will be just barely enough room to house the Complaints Department.
"Go Stick Your Head in a Pig,"
Schwab
Re:Outer Space Treaty (Score:1)
Huh? What country would that be, exactly? If a company in a non-signatory nation built a base on the moon and claimed property rights by homesteading to the area where the base was, what exactly would the State Parties to the Treaty do?
What gave the signatories of the treaty the right to decide what can or can't be done on the moon by those not subject to their sovreignty?
Of course, the "deeds" being sold by the Lunar Embassy are completely bunk, as they themselves say, but that is not because ownership of lunar property is inherently unlawful.
Re:Novelty value only (Score:1)
I liked the joke postings better. Can I turn it in for a pound of green cheese?
Bruce
Re:Neutral Zone?! (Score:1)
(B) This reminds me of Swatch's recent effort to 'bring people together' by violating international communications law (a satellite transmitting in a reserved frequency).
(III) Is this an effort to bring people together or to make some money? I'm all for noble efforts, but how do we know (especially considering (1) above) that this really isn't a cynical way of separating money from people?
...phil
UNIX time() of course! (Score:1)
Put little dots at the 1000 day and 100 second marks and you get
Stardate 9.410.688.31
Antartica? (Score:1)
Re:LINUX (Score:1)
Spoooooooooon!
Re:MS Mars, MS Moon... (Score:1)
Property has no value unless you can defend it (Score:1)
Perhaps I'm just taking this just a little bit too seriously :)
I own a piece of the Moon (Score:1)
Quoting from my "Martian Deed":
Area I-32, Quadrant Echo 1, Lot Number 844
This property is located 029 squares south and 004 squares east of the extreme northwest corner of the recognized Martian chart.
Seriously, I have a piece of the moon from this company. It was given to me by a friend of mine a year or two back. He thought it was hilarious, and I found it quite amusing myself.
It does say: "this is a novelty gift".
I wish I could put up a scan, but I don't have a scanner nearby...
This should be filed under "humor"... (Score:2)
Its all kinda pointless until we actually manage to actually establish a viable colony, anyway...
What is the TLD for the Moon? (Score:1)
I know that
By the way, did you know there are already 247 ISO 3166 codes assigned? That means that we are almost 40% of the way to assigning every possible 2-letter abbreviation available.
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:1)
I think (but I'm not certain) this story is contained in this [barnesandnoble.com] collection (at barnesanddnoble.com).
Re:LINUX (Score:2)
Better than cracking MS (Score:1)
outer space treaty (Score:1)
Re:LINUX--Lets not spell linux this is cooler (Score:1)
Re:The World's Oldest Profession (Score:2)
rated "funny," I doubt anyone reads what I'm about to say anyway) I think that weightless
sex will be the first commercially viable harnessing of space. Anyone who has done it in a
pool knows the benefits of escaping gravity, and the drawbacks of pools are legion (going
far beyond the possibility of drowning if you're not careful!).
I don't know if anyone noticed, but when NASA sent a husband and wife team up, almost
all media questions were directed to those 2. Sadly for the USA, I think the Russians beat
us on that one, though I haven't heard any claims to the "MileS High Club" from them. As
one of the astronauts said, "gravity sucks," so I expect this development to happen, but
probably as a honeymoon thing rather than a slutty prostitute thing, within my lifetime.
JMR
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:3)
Under The Outer Space Treaty (short title), no country can stake claim on an extraterrestial body (including the Moon) -- says nothing about private organizations. The Moon Treaty (short title), which only a handful of countries have signed (none of the major space powers have signed it), is based on The Law of the Sea Convention and is more muddy regarding private ownership rights.
As to whether the U.S. could currently claim ownership, territorial waters traditionally had been defined by the range of the most advanced artillary of the time (weapons of the last few decades has made this absurd, which is why there is now an arbitrary distance used). Even if the U.S. claimed ownership of the Moon, it is currently in no position to defend that claim.
Christopher A. Bohn
Want a bridge on Io? Real cheap! (Score:2)
How do you take ownership of a patch of the Moon, then? Well, back in the old days (i.e., the Renaissance), you went there with a Government-sponsored team and claimed the land in the name of a nation. You then stacked it up with soldiers to make sure no one contradicts your claim.
So, if you buy a land on the Moon, how are you going to go there and claim it, much less defend it against invasion?
The simple fact of the matter is, you can't. And Governments will let you dream on about your little patch of Moon property until they decide otherwise.
In the meantime, people are giving money away, mostly because they think it's fun. But if you think that's much fun, there's a nice bridge for sale on Io. Just give me a call.
"Knowledge = Power = Energy = Mass"
Re:Moon (Score:2)
---
"'Is not a quine' is not a quine" is a quine.
Re:the flag... (Score:2)
--
Outer Space Treaty (Score:3)
The United States signed this treaty on the 27th of January, 1967 and deposited an instrument of ratification on the 10th of October, 1967 - making this treaty US law. As far as I can tell, all the countries with a reasonable chance of having a space programme have signed and ratified it, including China, which agreed to the treaty in 1983.
What does this treaty have to say about property on the moon?
Article I, para 2
Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.
This means you can't keep anyone off of your lunar claim. You can't keep them from building or prospecting or from exercising any other right you have to some strip of land either. Under those conditions, what good does a deed do you?
Article II
Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.
This means that no nation can claim exclusive jurisdiction over the moon or any part of it, and that makes it basically impossible to obtain a deed that other countries would consider binding.
Article VI
States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. When activities are carried on in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, by an international organization, responsibility for compliance with this Treaty shall be borne both by the international organization and by the States Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization.
This means you can't claim the treaty doesn't apply to you because you aren't affiliated with a national government. Anything you do in space falls under the jurisdiciton of some country.
In short, a deed to the moon, an asteroid, or anything else in space is completely worthless so long as this treaty is in force.
Re:Damn it, don't give it away! (Score:2)
Re:Novelty value only (Score:2)
--
CHA (Score:2)
Lay Claim (Score:2)
We're talking about a very long-term venture here. Space, once we get rolling, will be our future. So while a "no private ownership" creed might be conforting and viable now, it will not hold up for long.
And what a wonderful way to discourage private industry from going! "You can own chunks of a finite resource down here but don't even think of laying claim to a speck of infinity." What breed of political bullshit is this??
Glad nobody in the fifteenth century tried this nonsense...
My
Quux26
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:2)
What time zone? (Score:5)
There is a tendancy to use UTC in space applications; if people start dispersing to the moon, this provides some time delay issues in communications that would result in sync issues; heading further afield to Mars would be similarly disruptive to synchronization of activities.
It's possible that one might get meaningful information out of a GPS unit from the moon, albeit with extremely screwy coordinates as they'd be relative to the earth. (Mind you, it is probable that consumer units would shut down as you'd be moving more than 999mph relative to earth's surface...)
Determining time/location will provide opportunities for new fields in vCards and for a bunch of new RFCs. I thought there was one on this, but in querying the archives, I seem to be mistaken...
Nope, the NSA did it... (Score:2)
And they got a young George Lucas to direct it. He was recruted by the CIA during his film school years. That's how he got all the cool ideas for shooting Star Wars.
This was all proven by the Weekly World News years ago. Get with the programme, dude!
(For the humour impared, yes, I'm kidding.)
"Its all just little bits of history repeating" (Score:4)
Haven't we learned about dealing in land that isn't ours, lands that we can't even get to?
Buy Tycho (Score:2)
You know, just in case they find something in it.
-=-=-=-=-
Re:International Agreement? (Score:3)
Contrary to the handwringing of most slashdotters, property rights in outer space is a good thing. People are not goingto invest the time and effort to get out there and build something useful on extraterrestrial bodies unless they think they can be sure they will reap the benefits.
Property rights are not a threat to space exploration. They are of utmost importance if mankind is to develop beyond the Earth. As nice as "sharing" sounds, it's not what drives progress. Mankind is driven forward by the expectation of material gain, and by the assurance that they will be free to dispose of the fruits of their labor.
Therefore, international treaties making outer space into a glorified national park should be repealed. As long as they are enforced, space exploration will be harmed.
Re:Moon Ownership Law (Score:3)
I have to wonder just how long all these treaties will hold up when travel to and colonization of the moon (or Mars, etc.) becomes non-trivial.
After all, nuclear test-ban treaties are broken all the time...
I meant trivial, not nontrivial (Score:2)
Re:US doesn't own the moon at all (Score:2)
this is my favorite ac conspiracy theory.
Have you seen the moon footage? did they shoot in that new low gravity area of quebec? come on kid. stay anonymous so that nsa doesn't "dissapear" you for letting it out of the bag.
ebay (Score:3)
-Lx?
2001: a Real Estate Odyssey? (Score:4)
Seriously, though, what is the point of buying this real estate? Can anyone really expect these claims to hold up if and when we do get to space? And what if we just can't live there? Oh, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Btw, does anybody really want to live on Uranus? (Sorry, couldn't help myself?)
MS Mars, MS Moon... (Score:3)
Re:Doesn't the US Own the Moon? (Score:3)
Novelty value only (Score:5)
Bruce
Here's the funny part (Score:2)
--
grappler
Re:Read the small print (Score:2)
There's not a court on Earth that would touch me. Even if they did, what are they going to do? Stop buying my Moon Dust? Ha! Moon dust is a valuable commodity. That's why I'm mining it. Any country that bans the import of Moon Dust is hurting itself more then it's hurting me.
Uh-huh, right. (Score:3)
Contrary to popular belief, ownership by individuals of extraterrestrial properties is not forbidden.
Well, ok, but it does not therefore follow that anyone will take any of these claims seriously.
The US government has several years to contest such a claim. They never did. Neither did the United Nations nor the Russian Government.
They've never contested my claim that I'm Napolean Bonapart, either.
Two former US President and several very prominent stars own their Lunar property already.
Did they actually *buy* claims, or were they gag gifts?
This is all pretty silly. If some really rich person -- let's call him D.D. Harriman -- went up and established a lunar colony, and some nut tried to take him to court because he did it on land "claimed" this way, it'd take a judge about 5 minutes to throw the case out. (Not counting the 15 minutes it'd take to stop laughing.)
"They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." - Carl Sagan