> slnf wrote: > > Hi there.... i have a wierd question for you guys. I heard rumor that > land on the moon (or mars) was for sale - is this true or not? Could > someone clarify this for me :) > Thanks > KymHello Kym!
Actually, not such a weird question. The short answer, as you may suspect, is "no." At least, not yet.
We did hear once from an entrepreneur who had managed to talk his County Clerk into stamping his claim to the Moon, and he was offering parcels on a first-come, first-served basis pretty cheap, something like 50¢ per acre. Don't waste your money -- he didn't really have a legal claim to the land.
The question of land ownership is a tricky one. In North America, for instance, all the land once "belonged" to the Native Americans. There's that famous story of early settlers from Europe "buying" Manhattan Island from the Indians for some glass trade beads. At the time, the Indians thought they got the better of the deal, since they did not recognize the concept of land ownership. The land belonged to itself, or the Earth, or the gods.
If you trace the ownership records of the land you live on, you ultimately find it was part of a big parcel, a "land grant," backed by some supreme state authority, probably from England or France (your email address is in Canada, oui?). And not from some clerk in England or France, but the King himself, who claimed eminent domain and backed it up with military force. Or maybe it goes back no further than your national government, "ceded by the Treaty of 1792" from the Patowatomies, or some such. But the principal is the same: the claim is backed up, enforced, by the power of the state, i.e., the military.
To illustrate this point, imagine you are minding your own business on your little farm in Europe during one of its many wars. One day the Hessians come down on you, take over your house and livestock and kick you out. Now they own the land and you have nothing. Unless your army can beat their army, you're out of luck. You may have a piece of paper that says you own the land, but without the full force of law and the threat of force behind it, your claim is worthless and moot.
They say that "possession is 9/10's of the law," and there's considerable truth to that. If you could hold your farm against the Prussian army or Attila the Hun, OK, it's yours. "Possession" here means occupancy, not a piece of paper. The chance of this scenario working on Earth is pretty slim. But the Moon (and Mars) is a different story. If you are actually there, and with only a little defensive capability (a handful of anti-missile missiles, for example), you might be able to hold off claim jumpers or foreign forces. That's because it's too expensive and difficult for them to mount an effective campaign against your claim.
On the other hand, if you hold "claim" to a parcel of the Moon from Sherlock Shyster backed by the full force and authority of the Podunk County Clerk, what do you suppose your chances are of defending that claim if Shimizu sends up an oxidizer factory and plops it on "your" land? If memory serves, even though Russian, American, and now I believe Japanese flags (at least, an impactor from Japan) are on the Moon, none of those states has attempted to lay claim to the Moon or any part of it. Ditto Mars (U.S. Viking landers), Venus (Russian Venera landers), and Jupiter (U.S. Galileo probe).
Alan Wasser of the New York City chapter of National Space Society has been campaigning to change that. Based on actual surface attainment and exploration of the Moon by U.S. astronauts, he would like the U.S. to lay claim to lunar land, possibly all of it, and back up that claim in any court proceedings. Then in a scenario reminiscent of the Oklahoma Land Rush, the U.S. would recognize private property claims to "reasonable" areas of the Moon to those individuals / companies who could show possession and gainful exploitation of a given site. These companies or individuals could then sell off "parcels" of their "land grants" for gain as private property, with full legal claim / title to the land. This would serve as "incentive" to get private industry up there and working, and prime the start of an "interplanetary" economy. His argument has some merit, but will probably not come to pass. The U.S. does not see sufficient merit in the proposal to offset the international hue and cry such a move would raise.
So in summary, don't buy land from people who don't actually have physical possession of the land. It's like buying the Brooklyn Bridge. The same also holds true, by the way, of various "Star Registries" offering to "name a star" after you or your designate. These Registries have pretty certificates and it's a cute idea, but they don't have the international authority to name stars. If you want to make a donation to a museum or planetarium offering such a Registry, fine, have fun. Just don't kid yourself. The star won't really have your name until the International Astronomical Union, the world-recognized authority, gives it your name, but they won't. See http://www.iau.org/starnames.html.
I realize this is probably a much longer answer than you were looking for, but it was fun to think about and write up. And since there are misguided souls or outright frauds out there asking for your money in return for a "deed" to lunar or martian land, it's a good question to ask. You are wise to check.
Actually, members of our Lunar Base Research Team hope to lay claim to some lunar land themselves one day, by possession, "squatter's rights." You and other tourists would be welcome to come on up, stay in our hotel, and tour our land for a very reasonable fee.
Bryce Walden, Chair
Lunar Base Research Team
Oregon Moonbase
Oregon L5 Society, Chapter of National Space Society
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