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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Who Owns the Moon?

Unlike the entire state of Florida, the moon is both a nice place to visit and somewhere I'd like to live. And with the impending onslaught of international moon missions, the question of who has the right to live on the moon is going to have to be answered. The Outer Space Treaty says that all celestial bodies belong to humanity as a whole, so different countries can't claim their own tracts in some kind of lunar land rush. However, that doesn't mean that some entities couldn't claim property rights--charging others to use areas of the moon they've already settled and cultivated. There are about ten billion acres of usable land on the moon, so there should be plenty to go around. Maybe this won't turn into a petty stingefest after all. But if history is any indicator, it won't be long before we're trading smallpox-infected blankets with unwitting moon men. More details here.

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