2006-06-29 04:13:22 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
At this point, no one "owns" those spots. Space is currently governed by several UN treaties, although not all countries have signed the treaties. The treaties list general ideas about usage, but specific laws regarding that usage are generally left up to the individual countires.
Typically, law evolves where there's a need for it. Since competition for locations in space or on the various solar system bodies (other than earth orbits) hasn't been a big issue, there's little law other than the treaties that govern what happens in space.
What's probably more important than any UN treaties today is the standard practice that space-going countries follow. In this respect, it's more about a country's ability to physically enforce any particular activities.
2006-06-29 05:30:00 · answer #1 · answered by j-bo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ah, Space, the Ultimate Frontier.
The moon belongs to everyone and no one.
Just like the earth, the sun, the planets and the stars.
Space real estate is just like earth real estate --
ownership is determined by property rights,
which in turn are determined by access, use, and priority.
Enforcement depends on joint government efforts.
The LaGrange points are, like all points off planet, "relative".
They are indeed like islands on the high seas --
currently unowned islands in space.
2006-07-13 00:29:01 · answer #2 · answered by David Y 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The moon was never declared as a land mass by the United States after landing there. The moon belongs to no one.
2006-07-12 05:11:06 · answer #3 · answered by The Mick "7" 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well whoever owns them is responsible for clearing out all the debris that has collected there! And by the start of next month, we have tenants moving in!
2006-07-10 18:26:46 · answer #4 · answered by samsyn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whoever is there is who owns them. If no one is there (in a ship) then no one owns them. You can't lock them up. You can't secure them in any way....so any claim would be like trying to claim the mid point of the Atlantic, and then, without any ships there, trying to enforce your claim.
As for UN space treaties....silly and unenforceable.
2006-07-13 00:40:03 · answer #5 · answered by tantamount_to_anarchy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nobody owns them. I doubt anyone ever will. They will always have a similar legal status as the high seas, I think.
2006-06-29 04:47:12 · answer #6 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think its like the old west. Whom ever claims the stake owns it. But the trick is you have to go there to claim it.
Cheers!
2006-07-12 19:04:39 · answer #7 · answered by El Griton 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nobody. I guess it's first come first served.
2006-07-08 16:56:32 · answer #8 · answered by John (Thurb) McVey 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋