Who owns the moon?

So, reading that NASA plans on building a base on the moon, I started wondering: Who owns the moon? If NASA plans on building something there, it must mean they believe they own the land, must it not? The USA was also the first country to put a man down there, isn't that equal to an explorer finding an uncharted island, and therefore is able to claim ownership of it?

What do you think, guys?
Should the first nation to go there own it?
Should the moon be split up among all the countries on earth?
Should the moon be public domain?
Something entirely different?

Moon rabbits and Lions. :bigsmile:

Ask the Man on the Moon aka Levian's MSN userhandle.

I think moon rocks own it right now...

As for who ought to own it: no one. Who will? The one who gets there first and/or sets up enough missiles to scare the :skull::skull::skull::skull: out of the others.

I don't think anyone has any rights to the moon, but we certainly have every right to set up a colony there. Hopefully we won't get whiny and refuse to share later on. :p

I'd like to see it divided up evenly.

Of course, it's going to more or less be taken over completely by whoever gets to it first, and eventually some type of "moon wars" will occur.

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Originally Posted by Jowy

I'd like to see it divided up evenly.

Of course, it's going to more or less be taken over completely by whoever gets to it first, and eventually some type of "moon wars" will occur.

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In a galaxy not far away at all
A battle raged between the the countries.
The first-comers have decided to take the land
And killed the moon rabbits and lions.
* Cue music*
One army stands alone
To take back what is everyones.
* Cue explosion with starship flying through it.*

Finders keepers.

I thought The United States did.

Well the US flag is up their still? Right?

Did Christopher Columbus own North America? I think not.

I hope it will be a nice turn-around from the retardation that has swept across Earth.

No, I don't really think anyone should own the moon. But there's no use trying to fool myself, so I think whoever has the best technology and gets there first will own it.

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Well the US flag is up their still? Right?

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So are several Russian flags. Flags do not constitute ownership of anything. They are left behind as a "We were here."

Russia was the first to land on the moon with an unmanned vehicle. The United States lead the first (and only) unmanned moon landing. This is according to the Wikipedia article on the moon.

According to the wikipedia article on the Outer Space Treaty nobody owns the moon and the moon can only be used for peaceful purposes (military installations and weapons producing installations are strictly forbidden).

I didn't read either of those articles in full.

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Originally Posted by Christmas

Moon rabbits and Lions. :bigsmile:

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:bigsmile:

My friends the Mooninites do.

:)

The Old Man and his rabbit.
I don't think anyone should own the moon. That would make it so much less pretty and :whaaa:

this reminds me of this quote from Super Troopers: " If you have beachfront property dose that mean you own the ocean?"

Anyway, I always figured no one "owned" the moon even though the US was the first and only one to have people on the moon.

It's the same dealy as Antarctica.

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Originally Posted by DocFrance

It's the same dealy as Antarctica.

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So it's open to anybody who can live there and not freeze to death?
(SPOILER)But the US owns it on the side

That's it. I'm going to Antarctica.

The Lunarians, I thought. Which would mean FuSoYa.

or, serious answer:
whoever owns the Earth. oh wait, no one!

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Originally Posted by Denmark

The Lunarians, I thought. Which would mean FuSoYa.

or, serious answer:
whoever owns the Earth. oh wait, no one!

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Oh-my-god. I was just about to say Lunarians! And on a more serious note, I DO think the Lunarians are the right full owners. People say you're american because your born on american soil, so you have a right to America. Well no one was born on the moon and it's been in the sky for a REALLY long time so it's not like we just discovered it. So if we find some kind of living organism, it should get custody. :razz:

why God of course *nods*

Frankly I think we should concentrate on finishing the ISS and replacing the shuttles first. Its way behind schedule and is a bucket of crappy bolts anyway so perhaps we're not ready for space habititation yet. Anyway, if we did go to the moon, I would like to see a fully international base set up. Not just NASA but ESA, JAXA et al. Though I do think that their sights were set way too high and I doubt it'll even be started by 2020.

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Originally Posted by Jowy

I'd like to see it divided up evenly.

Of course, it's going to more or less be taken over completely by whoever gets to it first, and eventually some type of "moon wars" will occur.

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That would make an interesting movie! :lol:

Actually funnily enough you can buy pieces of the moon (for a few grand an acre i think)....i think Tom Cruise owns a few acres of it as well as Victoria Beckham, etc....so whats probably happened is that america has bought enough land to do whatever they wanna do on the big lump of rock.....but it still begs the question who in the world whould own the moon originally to be able to sell it on legally?

UPDATE:

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In 1980, an American called Dennis Hope now known as the Head Cheese claimed the Moon and all other planets and moons in the solar system. He has granted MoonEstates.com the exclusive rights to sell extraterrestrial land in the United Kingdom. For more details about the ownership of the Moon and other planets and satellites go to About Us or for the whole story go to Frequently Asked Questions.

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Ah, I remember him. He was on some comedy documentary a few years ago by Danny Wallace when he tried to make his London flat a country. Unfortunately Hope's activities are legal I think. Only earth basd governments are prohibited from claiming extraterrestrial land, so he can claim as much as he wants. I hope he gets sued by someone when we do go to live in space as I doubt any contract his customers made with him will be upheld by whoever goes up there first.

i heard on the news that pink fluffy bunnies control the moon and are planning on taking over the WORLDhttp://www.dpi-graphics.com/uploads/...Bunny-pink.jpg

I think you've been watching too much "Biker mice from Mars" :p ;)
(Or whatever that cartoon's called if it's not that)

Roger Waters tried to claim complete ownership but it is and always has been property of all the members of Pink Floyd.

First person to build a big gun emplacement.

The person who starts the second page in this thread.

Edit: Oh.

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Originally Posted by I'm my own MILF

First person to build a big gun emplacement.

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so you saying if Shinra put a Mako cannon on the moon it would be Shinra's moon?

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Originally Posted by dodhungry

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Originally Posted by I'm my own MILF

First person to build a big gun emplacement.

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so you saying if Shinra put a Mako cannon on the moon it would be Shinra's moon?

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I believe that is what he is saying. Personally, I'm looking forward to the Mysterons being discovered on the moon, meaning that we can never claim it as they are so superior to us that we could never win a war for the moon against them...

I reckon America probably thinks they own it. But they think that about everything.

Actually. I reckon Russia probably thinks they own it as well. But no one really knows who offically owns it and continues to have more competition until one of them does something really BIG and the others are like 'Woah. You own the moon, man'.

But seriously. Richard Branson will probably end up buying it. I'm okay with that.

givit to the indians and see how much they like it up there

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Originally Posted by Rusty

But seriously. Richard Branson will probably end up buying it. I'm okay with that.

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Cheap Lunar Holidays with Virgin Space ftw! ;)

It's the mothersmurfing moon. Nobody gets to own it.

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Originally Posted by nik0tine

It's the mothersmurfing moon. Nobody gets to own it.

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hrm yeah everyone on the planet can see it...not fair that one country/person/conglomerate should own it....

The only things that should be owned are noobs.

It costs you £20 to legally own an acre of the moon. I suggest you all buy some now, and shove it in NASA's face.

Ah, I see it now, whole droves of EoFF calling up NASA demanding £20,000 (that's right, a 1000% markup) for the rights to be on that bit of the moon or get shot for trespassing :D

Pepsi is going to buy it and paint the pepsi logo on it.

The Mooninites already own it, and we should fear them. They are highly advanced because they can jump higher than us and only have two dimensions.

ooh scary! only two dimensions! we would be mad to stand up to their obvious might and power....:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by VengefulRonin

The Mooninites already own it, and we should fear them. They are highly advanced because they can jump higher than us and only have two dimensions.

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They actually have five.

Th-thousand.

We will. It 2024 anyway.

Until then, rabbits own it. Yes. Moon rabbits.

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Originally Posted by GenjiEnkil

Pepsi is going to buy it and paint the pepsi logo on it.

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A gigantic pepsico logo in the sky would make my day more than you might guess. :bigsmile:

Edit: nik - what? How can nobody get to own it? By the logic nobody gets to own any part of Earth, or Mars, or anywhere else we might be/go.

I thought Americans only bluffed first landing on the moon...

I owned 'th3 m00n' on counter strike yesterday

Finders keepers, losers weepers imho.

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Originally Posted by White Raven

My friends the Mooninites do.

:)

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Hell yes.

its all cheese anyway so its probably REALLY owned by.......oh no they've found me......must run....must find place to hide......quickly....searching for exits......oh no dont come any closer! im warning you!!! ive got teeth! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! *thud*

ergh.....damn you.......Dairylea.....*cue dramatic death music*

oh noes! We're going to have to fight tooth and plasticine nail for it lest Wallace decides to have another grand day out!

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Originally Posted by Bunny

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Originally Posted by VengefulRonin

The Mooninites already own it, and we should fear them. They are highly advanced because they can jump higher than us and only have two dimensions.

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They actually have five.

Th-thousand.

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And they are excellent spellers. All that they say and do is right. Yes, they own the moon. But if we play our cards right, they might give us the sun