Extraterrestrial real estate

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The Moon as seen by an observer from Earth. Some people claim that private ownership of the Moon might be possible.

Extraterrestrial real estate is either land on other planets or natural satellites or parts of space that is sold either through organizations or by individuals. Ownership of extraterrestrial real estate is not recognised by any authority, and its legal status is disputed. Nevertheless, some private individuals and organisations have claimed ownership of celestial bodies, such as the Moon, and are actively involved in "selling" parts of them through certificates of ownership termed "lunar deeds", "Martian deeds" or similar. These "deeds" are viewed by many as having novelty value only.

[edit] Legal issues

The legal issues concerning ownership of extra-terrestrial real estate are still extremely vague. One of the underlying issues is whether private ownership of such property is recognized. As stated by the United Nations 1967 publication "Outer Space Treaty", space is the "province of all mankind", and is not subject to claims on sovereignty by States.^[1] As treaties apply to States and place obligations on States, and since the Space Treaties were drafted at a time when, realistically, the only "people" going into space were States, none of the space treaties make reference to private parties. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 has currently been ratified by 98 states, including all the major space-faring nations.^[2]

The international Moon Treaty, finalised in 1979 and entering into force in 1984, forbids private ownership of extraterrestrial real estate.^[3] However, as of January 1, 2008 only 13 states have ratified the agreement,^[4] and none of these are major spacefaring nations. "Moon-sellers" point to this lack of recognition in justification of their ownership claims.^[5][6] Article 6(2) of the Moon Agreement is also seen by some as challenging the fundamental notion of non-appropriation in space.^{[citation needed]}

The view of many legal experts is that property rights on the Moon or other celestial bodies do not exist.^{[citation needed]} The main obstacle to owning a part of the Moon or other celestial body is that there is no recognised system of property law, or indeed any law, in those places, and thus no rights of ownership can be created. State sovereignty allows a state to impose and implement its law on its territory, but no state can do this in space due to the principle of non-appropriation enshrined in Article 2 of the Outer Space Treaty.

Aware of the need for a stricter approach, the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (a society of space lawyers) issued a Statement in 2004 in which it deplored the augmentation in the extraterrestrial real estate business "raising the opportunity for individuals to be misled".^[7]

The statement reads, inter alia –

The Board of Directors of the IISL calls State Parties to the Outer Space Treaty to –

While space lawyers consider the purported sale of extraterrestrial real estate a trivial matter, pertaining to consumer protection law, most of them agree that the subject of real property rights in outer space needs to be clarified. Among the specialists in the field of extraterrestrial property rights are Wayne J. White Jr., Virgiliu Pop, Alan Wasser and Alexander Soucek of ESA.

A related issue, which has the potential of great future importance, is the commercial exploitation of natural resources on the Moon or other bodies. Many lawyers believe that the Outer Space Treaty does not preclude this activity, in much the same way as commercial fishing is permitted in international waters even though they are owned by no one. The Moon Treaty places more severe restrictions on allowable activities, but, as mentioned, this treaty has little recognition.^[8]

[edit] Similarities with the Earth

Similar issues were raised with the exploration and colonisation of Antarctica, but since those issues were resolved there have been no claims over land that was not the territory of a nation. The Antarctica issue was clouded by the initial difficulties with establishing permanent residence there, in a similar way to the situation in outer space at present.

[edit] Moon for sale?

Moon for sale refers to any one of a number of schemes or plans claiming to allow people to purchase portions of the Moon or other celestial bodies.

Though the details of some of the schemes' legal arguments vary, one goes so far as to state that although the Outer Space Treaty, which entered force in 1967, forbids countries from claiming celestial bodies, there is no such provision forbidding private individuals from doing so. The short story The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein, which had been written in 1949, offers a portrayal regarding such plans or schemes. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land also makes reference to a space law case called the Larkin Decision.

Many states and countries have corollaries to their real estate and property laws to prevent wanton claiming of new-found lands, that state that a simple claim to the territory is not enough; the claimant must also demonstrate "intent to occupy," something that, at this time, is difficult to do with the Moon and any other celestial body.

Considering these facts, legally, the schemes' "deeds" have only symbolic or novelty value and no official governing body in the world has yet granted any legal validity to them.

[edit] Supposed moon sellers

Ever since the start of the "Lunar Deeds" craze, various businesses have validated their sale of the deeds via such claims as a supposed loophole in current law. Currently no argument for the validity or invalidity of these arguments have been pressed.

Presently, over the internet, the number of ownership claims by various enterprises and business is astronomical. While various members of the larger "groups" have come forward to assert themselves, none are of any notability over the other in comparison to legal issues nor price issues.

[edit] History of extraterrestrial claims

Claims of ownership of extraterrestrial real estate are not a new phenomenon. In 2006, Romanian author Virgiliu Pop published a monograph cataloguing these claims.^[9] His book mentions, inter alia, that:

• In 1937, A. D. Lindsay of Ocilla, Georgia claimed all “planets, islands-of-space or other matter” in the Universe as his property.
• In the 1940s, people were enquiring with the US Bureau of Land Management for lunar homesteads.
• In 1948, James Thomas Mangan of Chicago proclaimed himself First Representative of the Nation of Celestial Space and envisaged selling “parcels of space” to interested buyers.
• In the 1950s, deeds for square inches of lunar property were offered as premiums with morning cereals, as were square-inch tracts of property in Alaska.
• In 1952, a Science Fiction club in Berkeley, California claimed a triangular area on the Moon for the United Nations.
• In 1953, Jenaro Gajardo Vera of Chile lodged the first Latin American claim to the Moon.
• In 1955, Crater Copernicus was parceled by Robert R. Coles, the CEO of the Interplanetary Development Corporation, much to the chagrin of the New York State Attorney General’s office.
• Japan entered the extraterrestrial real estate business in 1956.
• In 1957, a Le Mars, Iowa newspaper gave its readers deeds to lunar farms.
• In the 1960s, the Moon and Venus were officially annexed by several municipalities. Deer Park, Texas, claimed planet Venus, while Oklahoma City and Geneva, Ohio expanded their boundaries with the Moon.
• In 1969, a man in Brazil was arrested for selling lunar real estate.
• In the 1970s, Barry McArdle of Berkeley criss-crossed America “selling” the Moon in the mode of the traveling medicine show performer.
• In 1974, land on Mercury was "sold" by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific as a fund raising ploy.
• In 1980, the American Dennis Hope started his own business, claiming to have found a loophole in international law allowing him to claim full sovereignty of the moon. He was the first to sell "lunar deeds" after sending declarations to the US and (then) Soviet governments and the UN. Hope has so far made $9 million from his business, claiming to sell 1,500 lunar properties a day at $20 an acre. He allocates land to be sold by closing his eyes and randomly pointing to a map of the Moon.^[10] As well as "lunar deeds", his "Lunar Embassy" website sells "extraterrestrial domain names" and other space-related merchandise.
• In 1982, newborn Prince William and Kermit the Frog were given complimentary “Martian Land” packages, courtesy of Fiske Planetarium’s David Aguilar.
• In 1997, three men in Yemen sued NASA for landing on their inheritance – planet Mars.
• In 1998, Mars was claimed by the Western Federation Church and Tribe, who plan to terraform it, provided there is no indigenous life.
• In 1999, The Lunar Registry was founded, like the Lunar Embassy, to sell real estate on the Moon.
• In 2000, Russ Wylie founded buyuranus.com, a humorous approach outlining the importance of “owning” Uranus.
• In 2001, Orbital Development invoiced NASA for having landed a probe on asteroid Eros, and a legal battle ensued.
• In 2001, Virgiliu Pop lodged a tongue-in-cheek claim for the Sun with the Archimedes Institute.
• In 2002, Anthony M Grasso incorporated the Lunar Federation Inc., according to Articles of Incorporation of the State of Florida, and entered the Moon and Mars Real Estate Business.
• In 2003, Charles Wesley Faires claimed ownership of the three stars of Orion's Belt: Alnilam, Alnitak and Mintaka. The claim has been filed with a Knox County Courthouse, United States Library of Congress and the Kingdom of Swaziland, among other entities.
• In 2005, Marina Bai, a Russian astrologer, sued NASA for having encroached upon her "holy of holies" (the Moon) by landing a probe on comet Tempel 1.
• A company called MoonEstates has also been selling plots on the Moon and Mars, which it "purchased" from Dennis Hope.^[11]

[edit] Ownership of empty space

Ownership of empty space can be thought of as a different issue to that of land ownership on extraterrestrial bodies, because of its emptiness, the difficulty of defining its bounds, and the difficulty of keeping anything within it. The United Nations "Outer Space Treaty" reserves space for the good of mankind, and effectively prohibits private ownership of arbitrary parcels of empty space, although governments which have not signed the relevant treaties may dispute the U.N.'s authority in this matter.

A space ownership issue of current practical importance is the allocation of slots for satellites in geostationary orbit. This is managed by the International Telecommunication Union.

[edit] See also

• International Ownership Treaties
• Land claim

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lunar Real Estate: Buyer, Beware!
• Space Law Probe
• Planetary Institute - Space Law Lobby
• ABC News Lunar Commercialization Article
• "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies"
• Moon Treaty
• CNN Lunar Land Claim
• "Statement by the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) On Claims to Property Rights Regarding The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" (cached version)
• "Lawyer Claims To 'Own' The Sun"
• "Yemenis claim Mars"
• "I Sold the Moon" - autobiographical book about a former lunar salesman
• I Own Orion's Belt - Local news broadcast about Charles Wesley Faires' claim of ownership of the three stars of Orion's Belt