| SALT LAKE CITY — Probably most schoolchildren wonder at some point who exactly owns the Moon. For various reasons, that seemingly innocuous question is becoming more and more important. The short answer is that nobody owns the moon, or for that matter any part of outer space. Not only that, but nobody can own the Moon or any part of it at all. In 1967, the major spacefaring nations signed and ratified the Outer Space Treaty, which outlines what can and can't be done in outer space and provides the basis for probably the coolest and nerdiest legal field ever, space law. According to Article II of the treaty "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." So, no nation can take any part of the moon for their own use. Scientific purposes are acceptable, which is why the US was able to make so many trips there gathering samples and data, and why China, Japan, Russia and other countries have sent or want to send probes and rovers to the Moon. Who can own the Moon seems like a very strange thing to be worrying about at this point, given current economic conditions and the fact that no one has stepped foot on the moon since 1972. But it has serious implications for at a least a few companies. Astrobotic Technology, an offshoot from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, is planning on having their own lunar rover mining on the moon by ... |
