Who Owns the Moon?

[Trish]

A very interesting debate today on the internet started by NASA with regards to who holds the rights or ownership of the moon? Within the next 10 years, the U.S., China, Israel, and a host of private companies plan to set up camp on the moon. So if and when they plant a flag, does that give them property rights? But ownership is different from property rights. People who rent apartments, for example, don't own where they live, but they still hold rights. So with all of the upcoming missions to visit the moon and beyond, space industry thought leaders are seriously asking themselves how to deal with a potential land rush, cowboy-style. To be sure, the United States aims to send astronauts back to the moon by as early as 2015, in a mission that would include a long-term settlement. China and Israel, among others, are also working on lunar projects. And for the first time, several private groups are building spacecraft to land on the moon in an attempt to win millions of dollars in the Google Lunar X Prize. Some participants say that they plan to gain property rights in the mission, so is it whom ever gets there first gets a spot on the Moon?

What do you think, who owns the Moon?

[Kasun Somaratne]

I think the moon should belong to the entire Earth and it's citizens. Therefore UN should own it! Otherwise before too long we will be fighting each other for parts of the moon.