# Could I buy the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335 "2022-11-21T18:02:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/21 "2022-11-21T21:44:32Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Well, the U.S. planted our flag there. Doesn’t that give us dibs? It fell down, I think. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/22 "2022-11-21T22:56:31Z")
There were six US flags planted on the moon. The first one, planted during the Apollo 11 mission, was probably knocked over by engine exhaust when the spacecraft lifted off from the moon. The others were [still standing in 2012](https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/apollo-moon-flags-still-standing/). But all the flags have probably been bleached white by lunar conditions, so they look more like truce flags than US flags now. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/23 "2022-11-21T23:28:43Z")
Well it appears that UPS subcontracts with other carriers for international shipping, so I decided to go with FedEx. They don’t have “moon” as one of their possible destinations, but did I find that I could send a cubic foot of moon (weight 94.6kg or 2080 lbs) the 18,604 km from Washington DC to Perth Australia for $46,961.75 Under the totally reasonable assumption that shipping costs scale linearly with distance, I calculate that it would cost about $75.22\*10^25 to FedEx the moon back to earth, using 2 day shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/24 "2022-11-21T23:38:23Z")
In one of the peculiarities of economics, though, it’s considerably cheaper to ship it twice that distance, provided that you’re willing to accept two-week shipping. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/25 "2022-11-22T00:17:10Z")
Buy the moon? Easy peasy, go here, they got moon real estate for $29.99 an acre. Just buy every acre and the whole moon is yours. (I’m too lazy to compute the price for the whole moon) ETA: ok, it was easy too look up the price for the moon, it’s 281.4 billion dollars. That’s a bargain! > **[Lunar Embassy, Earth](https://lunarembassy.com/product/buy-land-on-the-moon/)** > > 5 Million Land Owners! Lunar Embassy is the ONLY legitimate site to buy land on the Moon. Claim of Ownership filed in 1980. Mineral Rights. AS SEEN ON TV ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/26 "2022-11-22T00:25:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In its current largely unreachable and totally undeveloped state, its value is darn near zero. What’s the value of the tides, both for the ecology and for potential energy generation? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/27 "2022-11-22T00:28:41Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Why buy it? Just build a moon base to defend against all intruders and declare it your own country. The Master speaks about starting your own country, although not specifically on the moon, so not all options would apply for the OP. > **[How do I go about starting my own country?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341955/how-do-i-go-about-starting-my-own-country)** ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/28 "2022-11-22T00:33:25Z")
I thank you, though like Amazon Prime, I question whether 2-day delivery is realistic in this instance. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/29 "2022-11-22T00:36:22Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > What’s the value of the tides, both for the ecology and for potential energy generation? Tremendous value, but in terms of price, zero. Even if someone were to actually own the Moon, they couldn’t charge anyone for those tides. That’s because there’s no way to prevent the tides from happening when everyone failed to pay up. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/30 "2022-11-22T00:41:29Z")
I’m sue Mr. Burns could stop the tides. > ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/31 "2022-11-22T00:48:45Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I thank you, though like Amazon Prime, I question whether 2-day delivery is realistic in this instance. Well if you’re a prime member shipping is free. 😀 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/32 "2022-11-22T00:50:43Z")
Good point! Okay, I’ll buy it at Amazon even though I’d have liked to use a local vendor. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/33 "2022-11-22T00:52:32Z")
This clearly relies on my [Decretum control of the moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/5) scenario. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/34 "2022-11-22T12:57:10Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > What’s the value of the tides … Enormous, when you consider the economic cost of turning them off, or even moderately messing with them. For the prospective Moon owner (the Lunar Lord?) the problem in monetizing this will be how to make that happen. Gravity appears to stubbornly insist on caring only about mass and distance, neither of which look to be at all easy - or cheap - to modulate. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/35 "2022-11-22T13:38:06Z")
The problem is that possession is 9/10 of the law. If you own something, and want to keep it, then you have to be able to defend it. Let’s say for example you dredge a non-island into an island in the middle of an expanse of ocean. If you were, to pick an example out of thin air, the most populous nation on earth with a navy and air force to match, you could do that and nobody would have the motivation to directly challenge you. If you were Joe Schmoe dredging and declared your own country on your own home-made island, any nearby country probably has enough firepower to decide “no, that’s ours”. As others have pointed out, the same with the moon. Unless you can establish a base an defend it against all challengers, you won’t own it for long. This is compounded by the currently prohibitive cost of transport. As for the value - the problem is that same cost of transport. Most value analyses more logically point out the most expensive part of space travel is getting thing into earth orbit from sea level; the most valuable part of moon products would be that it’s cheaper than getting the same resurce from earth in bulk - metal, water (or separated, as rocket fuel). Just look at the size difference bwetween the Lunar Lander’s return stage, and the Gemini’s Titan rocket, in terms of firepower needed to loft a minimal 2-person capsule. Plus - if you did find something like Jor-El’s mythical lost golden meteor crater (based on an old map made by Galileo watching the moon at just the right time) then what? If all the countries with big enough armies and space forces decided this was not yours for the taking, it’s collective wealth, they don’t need to capture your base. They just need to capture your space galleons returning full of ~~booty~~ cargo. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/36 "2022-11-22T16:26:35Z")
What’re you gonna do with all that green cheese? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/37 "2022-11-22T16:52:03Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > If you were Joe Schmoe dredging and declared your own country on your own home-made island, any nearby country probably has enough firepower to decide “no, that’s ours”. As in **[Principality of Sealand - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand)** Although the Brits, displaying their characteristic restraint and spirit of fair play have yet to blast it out of existence. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/38 "2022-11-22T20:50:25Z")
I notice on the Amazon moon listing it says > “People who bought this also bought Mars, Mercury, Brooklyn Bridge, Saturn” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/39 "2022-11-26T17:57:06Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Let’s say for example you dredge a non-island into an island in the middle of an expanse of ocean. If you were, to pick an example out of thin air, the most populous nation on earth with a navy and air force to match, you could do that and nobody would have the motivation to directly challenge you. If you were Joe Schmoe dredging and declared your own country on your own home-made island, any nearby country probably has enough firepower to decide “no, that’s ours”. Thomas Perry wrote a pretty good novel about that called **Island**. From Amazon: _ **Island** , first published in 1987 and long out-of-print, one of Thomas Perry’s most sought-after titles, is now available to readers in e-book format. The riveting and entertaining thriller follows a husband-and-wife con team on the run from the Mob, a soldier of fortune between jobs, a two-bit operator with grandiose dreams of tribal dynasty, a sultry CIA operative with divided loyalties, and the most dazzling defector ever to hurl a split-fingered fastball–twentieth-century buccaneers who wash up on a tiny island in the Caribbean and turn it into a multinational cash machine–but then the shooting starts._ ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335/40 "2022-11-26T22:57:05Z")
I’ve got a nice quarter-acre lot just east of the Tycho Crater I’d be willing to sell to the OP. It’s unimproved land and there are no utilities, but it’s very quiet and there’s a great view of the Milky Way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-buy-the-moon/975335.md?page=3)