As the Asian space race heats up, nations are beginning to ask
who owns Earth’s lone satellite. According to a prominent
researcher on the subject, lunar property rights should be
strictly first come, first served. With Indian, Chinese, and
Japanese spacecraft now orbiting the moon and the US and Japan
planning to build lunar bases, it’s only a matter of time before
disputes arise over who has a right to build on and mine the
moon and where. The UN’s so-called Moon Treaty declares that the
moon is part of mankind’s common heritage, and would ban
ownership of any extraterrestrial party, but the treaty has
never passed and has not been ratified by any nation with a
space program. According to Virgiliu Pop, that’s all for the
best, since the UN has the wrong idea. Pop is a Romanian space
lawyer who has written extensively on the topic of lunar
property. His latest book Who Owns the Moon? Extraterrestrial
Aspects of Land and Mineral Resources, Pop explores the
possibility of creating a legal framework for propert