Buying Land on the Moon: Is It a Hoax?

One of the most controversial things that have happened after the Landing of the Moon was a commercial claim made on the Moon due to Claim of Ownership. There are some companies out there that sell plots of land on the Moon and they claim that it is perfectly legal and binding. In this article we will examine the authenticity of this argument.

Even before the Americans landed on the Moon in 1968, there was some work going on in the United Nations concerning the property rights and the sovereignty of the moon. Thus after much discussion the Moon Treaty of 1967 was signed by the member states of the United Nations. In this treaty, the subject of Moon Sovereignty was explored in detail and it was decided that No Single Nation could claim land or sovereignty in the Moon. Also it clearly stated that there could be no military bases of any kind belonging to any nation. This treaty was further strengthened with the Moon Treaty of 1979 in the United Nations.

However currently there are several companies who are claiming the right to the moon. In fact, these companies are selling a plot of land from the moon and they are also issuing titles and deeds in behalf of their clients. One such company is the Lunar Embassy Inc. This company has claimed the ownership of the Moon on the basis that “One can own extraterrestrial land if one is the first to claim it”. Although this basis is quite thin on ice and does not conform to the United Nations Treaties, still Lunar Embassy continues to sell acres of land on the moon for $19.95 per acre. In fact there have been lots of controversies concerning this company, which has made hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from selling land on the moon. There were several scandals involves as one prominent member of the company was caught in Las Vegas while gambling away the money that was acquired through the sale of land on the Moon. This company was also banned in many countries including China for fraud. However, the company continuously claims that, it has the right of land on the Moon.

The second major company that offers land from the Moon is “The Lunar Republic”. This company is different from the other one as it uses %95 of the funds that are received from each sale of the plot of land on the moon; and contributes it to a project “Kennedy II Lunar Exploration Project”. This project is concerned with putting people on the Moon again by a private initiative. Again, the company issues titles and deeds in fee simple form to all members who have bought land from the Moon. However, the major diversion comes from the fact that the money you have spent on buying land from the Moon actually goes into a fund to support the Drive for the Moon. So it’s little bit like Friends of the Moon Society and the fees paid can be seen as contributions. In addition, to make your contribution more meaningful; every person who purchases a land on the Moon is automatically made a Lunar Citizen (The Citizen of the Moon). Although no one knows how legal such claim can be, the company insists on the legality by citing various loop holes in the US Law and United Nations Treaties and Legislations.

Technically speaking its hard to say that whether these claims will hold up some day. Because this is a unique situation, there are no precedents but it can be safe to say that even a legal claim under United States law can be meaningless in the Moon as it is a sovereign body. The situation on the Moon can be compared to the situation on the Continent of Antarctica where no one can lay claim to the continent. However, one last word can be definitely said: He who goes first to the Moon Can Claim the Moon!!!