Could I steal the American flag off the moon?

Factual Questions
1

Or anything else left behind with impunity?

Seriously, I ask this becuase I read an article were China plans to send a robot to the moon. (withn in the next 20 years or so) It just got me to thinking what if that thing starts messing with the stuff we left up there? I know they wouldn’t but what if? Or better yet what if I average joe American went up there and took all the stuff and started selling it on Ebay?

2

I don’t know if it was nothing more than an advertising gimmick, but I remember an advert for Hasselblad cameras offering a top-spec model for free, all you’d have to do is collect it from the moon.

3

Awe jeez! Five seconds after posting this thread I noticed the “lets bring the moon home” thread. FWIW this has nothing to do with that thread. Although some might say it’s about as lame. :shrug:

4

Off the top of my head, those seeking to prosecute you for stealing said flag would face at least two problems:

(1) Jurisdiction. With certain doctrinal exceptions, the criminal law of a nation extends only within its territorial bounds. The United States, for example, would be hard pressed to argue its criminal laws apply to offences occuring on the moon.

OTOH, 1973’s “Moon Treaty” appears to hold that nation’s retain “jurisdiction and control” over their equipment and facilities on the moon. NASA’s ownership of the flag is not affected by its presence on the moon.

(2) Abandonment. You could argue the NASA or whoever owned the flag voluntarily relinquished the right of ownership, if you could show an intent to abandon and some act or failure to act that expressed this intent. Leaving the flag 400,000 km from Earth would certainly be relevant. :slight_smile:

5

This brings me right back to my childhood and memories of Salvage 1 with Andy Griffith…
And no, the show didn’t last too long…

6

Seems to me it’d be easier to just go buy a flag at Walmart, but what do I know?

7

“Or better yet what if I average joe American went up there and took all the stuff and started selling it on Ebay?”

Then ebay would probably shut the auction down.

PS: I prefer ’ the Moon’ not ’ the moon’