# Land on the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601 "2011-07-28T08:25:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Charleythejanitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Charleythejanitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charleythejanitor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/1 "2011-07-28T08:25:23Z")
I read today that 300 million people have bought land on the moon.Has anyone here done that. Thanks ahead of time ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/2 "2011-07-28T10:02:35Z")
Not me. Nor anyone that I know, as far as I’m aware. Where did you read that? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/3 "2011-07-28T10:15:58Z")
_\_ Whoa. The numbers may be off but [apparently](http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-19/tech/moon.land_1_moon-dennis-hope-lunar-land?_s=PM:TECH) people actually do that. > [@](#): > > Williams, who describes himself as the “Lunar Ambassador to the United Kingdom,” is the owner of MoonEstates. He claims to have sold around 300,000 acres of moon land since he and his wife, Sue, founded the Cornwall-based company eight years ago. One-acre plots of lunar turf go for about $40. > > As proof of purchase, new property owners receive a silver tin containing a personalized “Lunar Deed” and a moon map with a tiny black X marking their tract’s approximate location. Most of the land Williams sells is in the northwest, in an area known as Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms – a desolate lava plain formed by volcanoes billions of years ago. “I know the Japanese are [selling] further east,” he said. > > Williams received his license to sell lunar land in the UK from Dennis Hope. In 1980, the Nevada-based entrepreneur claimed ownership of the moon after finding what he calls a loophole in the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, which forbids countries from owning the moon but, according to Hope, does not forbid individuals from owning it. > > Hope, who estimates he has sold over 500 million acres of moon land, said he immediately filed a “declaration of ownership” with the U.N. along with the United States and Russian governments. It sounds like those guys who “unofficially” (aka it doesn’t mean anything) sell people the names to stars. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/4 "2011-07-28T11:11:00Z")
> [@Charleythejanitor](#): > > I read today that 300 million people have bought land on the moon.Has anyone here done that. > > Thanks ahead of time I didn’t purchase from anyone, but I still I believe my claim to the areas surrounding my secret base are more supportable than any “deed” sold as a novelty. I have lasers. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/5 "2011-07-28T11:20:38Z")
I wouldn’t make any big internet purchases on such a premise. Not unless you are guaranteed in writing to be granted the title of “[Lunar Laird](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3003/can-i-become-a-scottish-laird-for-30)” immediately upon receipt of your payment. Anything less is probably some kind of novelty scam. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/6 "2011-07-28T14:47:27Z")
**mlees** , Duke Tycho, Count of Sasserides, Lord of Orontius. The kowtow line forms right over there. > **[Moon | Legal status](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_moon#Legal_status)** > > Although Luna landers scattered pennants of the Soviet Union on the Moon, and U.S. flags were symbolically planted at their landing sites by the Apollo astronauts, no nation claims ownership of any part of the Moon's surface. Likewise no private ownership of parts of the Moon, or as a whole, is considered credible. > The 1967 Outer Space Treaty defines the Moon and all outer space as the "province of all mankind". It restricts the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes, explicitly banning military i... PDF from International Institute of Space Law (what a job!): [Félicitations ! Votre domaine a bien été créé chez OVHcloud !](http://www.iislweb.org/docs/Statement%20BoD.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/7 "2011-07-28T14:55:01Z")
Sorry, to explain second link in post #6, the PDF has this statement: > [@](#): > > \ any purported attempt to claim ownership of any part of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, or authorization of such claims by national legislation, is forbidden as following from the explicit prohibition of appropriation, and consequently is prohibited and unlawful. Since there is no territorial jurisdiction in outer space or on celestial bodies, there can be no private ownership of parts thereof, as this would presuppose the existence of a territorial sovereign competent to confer such titles of ownership. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/8 "2011-07-28T15:12:44Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Sorry, to explain second link in post #6, the PDF has this statement: Did you miss the post when I said I have _lasers_? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/9 "2011-07-28T15:29:37Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Did you miss the post when I said I have _lasers_? Are they _shark_-mounted lasers? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/10 "2011-07-28T15:49:20Z")
To answer the OP’s question, nobody has ever bought land on the moon. But some people have given money to a guy who then told them they owned land on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/11 "2011-07-28T15:49:27Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Did you miss the post when I said I have _lasers_? Apparently, you missed the memo. You may not militarize the Moon, either. (See “Legal status” link in post #6.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/12 "2011-07-28T16:02:51Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Apparently, you missed the memo. You may not militarize the Moon, either. (See “Legal status” link in post #6.) Oh, not “militarized.” The lasers and legion of terror are for personal protection only. (Sharks on the Moon? Absurd idea.) ---
**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:** [July 28, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/13 "2011-07-28T16:19:06Z")
There’s a difference between “may not” and “can not”. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/14 "2011-07-28T17:15:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s a difference between “may not” and “can not”. In “Mother, May I”, mother can very well say “no”. There is no confusion there. “You may not have dessert. You may not go outside.” is not a grey area/maybe-if-you-feel-like-it situation. In that use, may not = can not = not allowed within this rule set. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/15 "2011-07-28T17:28:13Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Apparently, you missed the memo. You may not militarize the Moon, either. (See “Legal status” link in post #6.) > [@Chronos](#): > > There’s a difference between “may not” and “can not”. And if the government wants to send up troops to prevent me from militarizing the moon, they’re welcome to try! ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/16 "2011-07-28T17:31:26Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And if the government wants to send up troops to prevent me from militarizing the moon, they’re welcome to try! Seal Team 6? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/17 "2011-07-28T17:34:30Z")
Since the factual aspect of this question has been answered, this is probably better off in IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/18 "2011-07-28T19:50:51Z")
Anyone trying to occupy their piece of moon are going to have to answer to [Gidney & Cloyd.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gidney_%26_Cloyd) ---
**Author:** ![uuaschbaer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@uuaschbaer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uuaschbaer)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/19 "2011-07-28T20:23:04Z")
To those who’ve just spent $40 on moon land: don’t trust that in 120 years I won’t go there with my mechanic liver and go all Alexander the Great on your asses 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601/20 "2011-07-29T04:09:47Z")
I have not bought land on the moon. However, I am renting a nice timeshare that a good gentleman sold me over the phone. It’s apparently on the shore of the Sea of Tranquillity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/land-on-the-moon/590601.md?page=2)