Who can really take over the Moon? The claims have been going on for decades

The return of manned lunar missions has reignited the debate about who actually has rights to the Moon. The Artemis program and plans for subsequent landings make a topic that for years seemed purely theoretical become important again.

The basic document regulating this issue is the Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967. According to its provisions, the Moon and other celestial bodies cannot become the property of any state, organization or company. Space has been recognized as a good available to all humanity.

The treaty was signed by 117 countries, including countries actively participating in space exploration.

The lunar system did not gain the support of the superpowers

The UN forum also created a more detailed document regarding activities on the Moon. This is the Lunar Agreement of 1979, which prohibits the military use of the Moon and regulates research and exploitation of raw materials.

The problem, however, is that this document has not gained much international importance. Only a dozen or so countries signed it, and the largest space powers were not among them.

In practice, the situation on the Moon is often compared to Antarctica. Countries can conduct research or organize expeditions there, but planting a flag does not mean taking over the territory.

Many have tried to “take over” the Moon

Claims against the Moon have existed since before the era of spaceflight. In the 20th century, several entrepreneurs and activists tried to claim themselves as owners of space.

One of the most famous was Dennis Hope, who in the 1980s decided that the 1967 treaty did not prohibit private possession of the Moon. On this basis, he founded the Lunar Embassy company and started selling plots of land on the Moon and Mars.

Although the certificates have no legal value, the business has proven to be extremely profitable. Hope claimed to have sold hundreds of millions of acres of lunar land.

In Poland, the motif of a plot of land on the Moon was even used in an advertising campaign for the Frugo drink in the late 1990s.

The new race for the Moon is just beginning

Today’s space race, however, looks completely different than it did during the Apollo program. In the 1960s and 1970s, the landings had primarily political and symbolic significance. Now, potential natural resources located outside the Earth play an increasingly important role.

The Moon is considered, among other things, a possible source of helium-3, an isotope perceived as a future fuel for thermonuclear energy. There are also huge amounts of mineral resources in space that are difficult or expensive to extract on Earth.

This is why issues of law and jurisdiction over the Moon are becoming increasingly important. Experts point out that with the development of technology and the intensifying rivalry between superpowers, new conflicts may arise regarding the exploitation of space resources.

The Artemis program is intended to open a new stage of exploration

The Artemis II mission is to be a manned flight around the Moon, and the next stages of the program assume the return of people to its surface. Further missions are also planned, including Artemis IV scheduled for 2028.

Man’s return to the Silver Globe raises the question “Who owns the Moon?” is no longer just a legal curiosity and is increasingly becoming an element of the global debate on the future of space exploration.