The flags of two countries are hung over the moon by metal wiring. The stars and stripes of the United States are not the only ones. If you ask any official from these countries, they will tell you that the flags are not a representation of a claim. They are more like graffiti from outer space.
Should planting a flag on the moon not count as a property claim? Can anyone actually own the moon when you're done?
The world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, streaked across the sky in 1957, opening up a new realm of possibilities. Some of them were legal. The Outer Space Treaty was the world's first legal document specifically pertaining to space exploration.
Even though it isn't technically binding, this treaty is still the most influential piece of space law. According to a space law expert at the University of Mississippi School of Law, it's not a Code of Conduct. Guidelines and principles are what it is.
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The'man in the moon' and how it formed are related.
Land grabs in space are clear despite the lack of enforceability. The treaty states that a country can't claim ownership of parts of space. Hanlon told Live Science that a state can't claim sovereignty.
Things get murkier when it comes to building bases and habitats on the moon. They are a kind of territory, right?
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, individuals have a fundamental right to own property. It is possible for anyone to build a house on the moon and claim it as their own. The former chairman of New York City's Hayden Planetarium tried to sell acres of the moon for $1 in 1955.
There is a provision in the article that could prevent such an attempt. All parties must be able to use the installation on another heavenly body. It had to function as a public space. The Moon Treaty of 1979 would have helped reconcile the two articles by stating that any commercial or individual party in space should be considered part of the nation of origin. The United States, China and Russia have yet to approve the agreement. As missions like NASA's Artemis Program and China and Russia's joint moon base project kick into gear, space lawyers like Hanlon will have to reconcile the two articles.
NASA tried to fill in some of the space law gaps with the Artemis Accords. Building on the Outer Space Treaty, the accords lay out a number of non-binding principles governing activity on the moon. Russia's Luna probe landing site and NeilArmstrong's footprints are protected as outer space heritage.
Not every country is happy about the accords allowing entities to use extraterrestrial resources. Twenty-one countries have signed the accords so far, though some major players, including Russia, have refused based on this clause, which they see as giving an unfair advantage to American business interests. Taking dirt from the moon feels like owning land, according to some scholars.
There are other ways to claim property that isn't on the moon. If the research team doesn't allow other people to come too close to their equipment, it could turn into a defacto land claim. All of these will become legal sticking points in the near future.
This is not an immediate issue. She said that at the end of the day, we have to be really, really careful about how we proceed.
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