Astronomy / Space I claim the moon

[Memnoch]

In the same way that the poles are considered protected and not owned by any one nation, ignoring for a moment the shenanigans that are going on north of Canada over, yes you guessed it: Oil, the Moon should be accessible to all and not the property of any nation.

If it was as simple as the nation that manages to land the first chunk of Earth metal on it, maybe we should get Colin Pillinger to design some more low cost "impactors" and fire them off to every body that has not yet been visited in the solar system and then claim them as UK territory?

 

[Le-Betz]

It clearly says: "WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND"

I always understood that literally.

That's a negative. The Moon is already taken by the Germans

Love it! Though i'm usually rather in jazz and/or electronica.

 

[MikeSnos]

What happened to the treaty that viewed space as un-ownable???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Treaty
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty

 

[Nagual]

Well, according to their own law, they can't claim the Moon or anything else up there. Have a read of http://www.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm which has the Outer Space Treaty.

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.

There have been many people who claimed to claim or register a claim for the moon, these are bogus as the Treaty also covers an individual.

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.

 

[Le-Betz]

What happened to the treaty that viewed space as un-ownable???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Treaty
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty

I'd guess this:

As of 2013, only 15 states (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Uruguay) have ratified it. France, Guatemala, India and Romania have signed but not ratified it.

I don't read 'USA' on that list. Do you?

 

[MikeSnos]

The Space Treaty is the key one and the US is a signatory to that one... The important part is :

'The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet,'

 

[Le-Betz]

Well, according to their own law, they can't claim the Moon or anything else up there. Have a read of http://www.state.gov/t/isn/5181.htm which has the Outer Space Treaty.

Oh, there it is.

 

[deMangler]

Must... resist... Pedantry...

Do not resist! Burn me down I am a vile misuser of language. I meant to say an arbitrarily defined area of regolith.

You've been had ... no one individual or nation can own the Moon. It belongs to nobody.

Otherwise I claim the whole universe.

Tell that to the wife... Actually.. no don't....

 

[metatheurgist]

With regards to the whole treaty thing, I'm sure they exist now, just so no one starts making silly unbackable claims. However, when someone starts putting a piece of hardware on an asteroid or the moon that can extract resources and send them back to Earth, things will get interesting.