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Extraterrestrial real estate refers toclaims of landownership on otherplanets,natural satellites, or parts ofspace by certain organizations or individuals. Most claims on extraterrestrial real estate have not been recognized by any authority, and have no legal standing. Nevertheless, some private individuals and organizations have claimed ownership of celestial bodies, such as the Moon, and have been involved in "selling" parts of them through certificates of ownership termed "Lunar deeds", "Martian deeds" or similar.
While personal claims have had little weight, wholestates could potentially lay claim to colonizing celestial bodies. Extraterrestrial real estate not only deals with the legal standpoints of potential colonization, but how it could be feasible for long-term real estate. There are multiple unique factors to consider in extraterrestrial real estate, includingtransportation,planetary protection, sustainability,astrobiology, how an extraterrestrial real estate market could function, andorbital real estate.
The topic of real estate on celestial objects has been written about since the 1890s. Dean Lindsay made claims for all extraterrestrial objects on June 15, 1936. The public sent offers to buy objects from him as well.[3]
TheUnited Nations-sponsored 1967Outer Space Treaty established all of outer space as an internationalcommons by describing it as the "province of all mankind" and forbidding anynation from claiming territorial sovereignty.[4]Article VI vests the responsibility for activities in space toStates Parties, regardless of whether they are carried out by governments or non-governmental entities. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 had been ratified by 102 countries by 2013,[5] including all the major space-faring nations. It has also been signed but not yet ratified by 26 other nations.[6]
The Outer Space Treaty established the basic ramifications for space activity in Article 1:
"The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind."
It continues in Article 2 by stating:
"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."[7]
The development ofinternational space law has largely revolved around outer space as the "province of all mankind". TheMagna Carta of Space presented by William A. Hyman in 1966 framed outer space explicitly not asterra nullius but asres communis, which subsequently influenced the work of theUnited Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.[8][9]
A subsequent treaty document, the internationalMoon Treaty—finalised in 1979 (just five countries had ratified it by 1984, but five countries was sufficient for it to be considered officially in force)—went further and forbade private ownership of extraterrestrial real estate.[10]This agreement has not been widely ratified,[5][11]with only 18 countries having ratified it by 2018.[12]
Several individuals and private organizations claimed ownership of the moon and other extraterrestrial bodies, but no such claims have yet been recognized. A white paper by theCompetitive Enterprise Institute suggested legislation wherein the US would recognize claims made by private entities, American and others, which meet certain conditions regarding habitation and transportation.[13]
Some individuals and organizations offer schemes or plans claiming to allow people to purchase portions of theMoon or other celestial bodies. Though the details of some of the schemes' legal arguments vary, one goes so far as to state that, although theOuter Space Treaty (which entered force in 1967) forbids countries from claiming celestial bodies, there is no such provision forbiddingprivate citizens from doing so. However, Article VI of this treaty states "The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty." Thus, while it does not explicitly prohibit such schemes, the treaty does require they be authorized by the claimants' government.[citation needed]
Theshort storyThe Man Who Sold the Moon byRobert A. Heinlein, which was written in 1949, offers a portrayal of such plans or schemes, and created the concept of a "Lunar Republic". Heinlein's 1961 novelStranger in a Strange Land also refers to a space law case called theLarkin Decision.
Since the 1970s, various companies and "star registries" claiming to sell stars or naming rights to them have been created.[14][15]
A space ownership issue of current practical importance is the allocation of slots for satellites ingeostationary orbit. This is managed by theInternational Telecommunication Union. The 1976 Declaration of the First Meeting of Equatorial Countries, also known as theBogota Declaration, signed by several countries located on the Earth'sequator, attempted to assert sovereignty over those portions of the geostationary orbit that continuously lie over the signatory nation's territory.[16] These claims did not receive wider international support or recognition and were subsequently largely abandoned. Instead, slots have thereafter been internationally allocated.
Two problematic issues arise regardingderelict spacecraft: In orbit around the Earth, 'dead' and abandoned satellites threaten future travel in the same orbits with a spray of deadly debris. In orbit around extraterrestrial planets, non-sterile orbiters in decaying orbits threaten to pollute the remote planets they orbit with Earth-organisms, and hence create a false 'signal' of alien life, possibly destroying or supplanting native life, or infesting its remains.
A prominent environmental problem in near-Earth orbital space is "space junk". Human-made refuse left in space endangers orbital real estate for future satellites, causing problems for future use of nearby space. In the case of debris cluttering orbital space, if the orbiting debris continue to build up without remediation,orbits near the Earth will become so crowded with deadly missiles that some operations in space will no longer be attainable.[17]
To remediate damage done by human-made objects, astronauts will need to bring specific hardware into space to exterminate debris. Once cleared, the surrounding space around a planet can then be used for more real estate opportunities. There are specific orbits, however, that have caused ownership debate.[citation needed]
Another issue is the crashing of abandoned orbital debris on extraterrestrial planets. Before the 21st century, exploration of other planets in theSolar System raised little concern about contaminating planets with life from the Earth. Since then experiments have shown that some terrestrial life is astonishingly hardy, and the time spent in transit in space is not a guarantee of a sterile spacecraft on arrival. Some 'bugs' will survive the trip, potentially invade the planet, eliminating the chance of determining whether life arose independently on other planets, or in the deep geologic past have spread between the planets of the Solar System via hypothetical "panspermia" processes. If an old, contaminated orbiter crashes onto an extraterrestrial planet, except in extreme cases, it will no longer be possible to test the panspermia hypothesis with any confidence in the outcome.[citation needed]
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