Celestial Real Estate Now Available, Cheap! Part I
Did you know that some enterprising entrepreneurs are selling celestial real estate these days? Yep, for a few bucks you can buy someone acreage on Mars!
So, how much would you pay for a chunk of celestial real estate? How about a few acres of the Moon, a crater on the planet Mars, maybe the occasional mountain on Venus or ice volcano on the Jupiter moon Io?
(Weather advisory: it's hot enough to melt lead on Venus, and cold enough to freeze air on Io. Please avoid the acid clouds on Venus, and do stay out of the sulfur rain Jupiter way.)
If you're going "Huh?!" right about now, we don't blame you. But we promise, we're not making this up.
So what's the score, really?
You're right to be skeptical, since by existing international law no one can claim extraterrestrial real estate, at least in our solar system. This has not, however, kept certain people from announcing that they have, and that they have a right to sell it.
Of course, some people still claim that a jolly fat man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves delivers gifts to a billion kids on one night every year, violating all sorts of physical laws (and a few statutory ones, for that matter) But oh well.
Yeah, right!
So, is this planetary land grab a scam? Most people would say so. However, the folks promulgating this scheme point out that legally, they really do have a leg to stand on (though not everyone agrees).
Back in 1967, you see, the United Nations passed the international Outer Space Treaty, which announced that no government was allowed to own property off the planet. Apparently, they were worried about the accelerating space race, and didn't want a 51st American state called "Moon."
In any case, the Outer Space Treaty didn't say anything about individuals or corporations owning extraterrestrial property, so the lunar land dealers have a point. Of course, they now have to enforce that stance...and they don't seem to be capable of doing that quite yet.
But then again...
In spite of their inability to plant their corporate flags on other planets thus far, these extraterrestrial entrepreneurs have honest-to-goodness plans to do so, figuring that if they can make a personal claim, it'll be even more solid.
Meanwhile, millions of people around the world have already purchased acreage on other planets, despite the shaky legality of the situation. Quite a few of them are even serious about it.
Check with us next time, when we'll present Part II of our discussion of celestial real estate deals!