UNITED NATIONS 18 Dec 2009 United Nations Moon agreement opened for signatures 30 years ago. Property rights?

The 30th anniversary of the 1979 United Nations Moon Agreement is a natural peg for exploring the lunar real estate business. The UN agreement, buttressed by the 1967 Outer Space Agreement, declares that the Moon is the common property of mankind. The potential exploiters of the ambiguous declaration include the private entities entering the space race in increasing numbers and vendors of lunar real estate. Companies are reported to be considering everything from mining the lunar surface to building extraterrestrial resorts on it.

None of the spacefaring nations has ratified the treaty.The approach of the 30th anniversary could cause a flurry of ratifications and an attempt to wrestle for an answer to who owns Earth's moon. Once sufficient nations have signed and/or ratified international treaties, they are binding on non-signatories as well. And the question is, how binding? Several experts have questioned whether it is possible to enforce the agreement, even if it withstands the expected challenges relating to ownership. In the meantime, companies purporting to sell land on the Moon are proliferating.

Dennis Hope, a self-designated Nevada-based lunar real estate developer, asserts he has secured legal ownership of the Moon and most other bodies in the solar system, and that a loophole in the Outer Space Treaty supports his claim. The agreement forbids governments from owning extraterrestrial property, but fails to mention corporations or individuals. Hope estimates he has sold over 500 million acres of Moon land,

Francis Williams, who describes himself as the "Lunar Ambassador to the United Kingdom," owns MoonEstates. He claims to have sold around 300,000 acres of Moon land since he and his wife, Sue, founded the Cornwall-based company eight years ago. One-acre plots of lunar turf sold by Williams go for about US $40, according to a recent CNN report.

As proof of purchase, new property owners receive a silver tin containing a personalized "Lunar Deed" and a moon map with a tiny black X marking their tract's approximate location. Most of the land Williams sells is in the northwest, in an area known as Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms -- a desolate lava plain formed by volcanoes billions of years ago. "I know the Japanese are [selling] further east," he said.

There are five treaties that govern international affairs in space. Two of them -- the Outerspace Treaty and the 1979 Moon Agreement -- deal with lunar law.  

RELATED READING:

Moon Agreement:

http://209.85.141.104/search?q=cache:C-PQKiN4jD8J:www.nti.org/e_research/official_docs/inventory/pdfs/moon.pdf+UN+Moon+Agreement&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

The Moon Treaty: Fact and Fiction (CS Monitor 2 Apr 1980)
http://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0402/040234.html

Lunar land grab (Space.com 2 Feb 2004)
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040202.html

Lunar Embassy
http://www.lunarembassy.com/

Lunar Registry
http://www.lunarregistry.com/

Lunar land real estate
http://www.lunarlandowner.com/1979_moon_treaty.htm