2007-11-05 08:24:56 · 9 answers · asked by hanner 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Geography
No. There are international treaties preventing ownership of the moon
2007-11-05 08:27:35 · answer #1 · answered by Silverhorn 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, it belongs to all mankind. Remember that the astronauts who walked in the moon left a plaque stating "we came in peace for all mankind", not to claim it for just the United States.
This understanding that no one owns the moon was formalized with the Outer Space Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. It was signed by both the US and Soviet Union in 1967 and entered into force that same year. 98 countries have signed, and 27 others have signed by not ratified.
It's a bit like Antarctica, which isn't owned by any country by treaty, although countries with claims to it haven't renounced those claims. No one owns the oceans away from coasts, either.
2007-11-05 10:17:48 · answer #2 · answered by ansrdog 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. The United States signed a Space Treaty over 30 years ago that basically says that no one can claim anything in space. That just goes to show how stupid our Congress is. We spent 40 billion dollars to get to the Moon in the 1960's and we can't even mine anything there without the permission of a bunch of other countries, who of course, will not give permission unless they get a cut of the profits. They won't of course help with the expense of mining.
The reason I'm against any "you can't own any unclaimed land here on earth or anywhere in space" is that the expectation of reward is what drives people to risk lives and fortunes to explore in the first place. Would the Vikings have gone west to greenland and the Canadian and New England coasts without the expectation of finding land and wealth? Would Columbus have gone all over Europe looking for a backer to finance his trips to "the far east' without the expectation of making a ton of money for himself? Explorers and innovators do so at great cost to themselves only if they can reasonably expect great reward to themselves. Countries need to be like that also, or exploration ceases. The United States is not going back to the moon just because we don't enough places to waste three trillion dollars a year. It's going back because eventually, space treaty and all, we'll be able to get natural resources from the Moon, Mars, the asteroids and comets. Natural resources that will replace those that are going to be disappearing on earth over the next few centuries.
2007-11-05 08:38:44 · answer #3 · answered by David Bowman 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
No, The moon doesn't belong to any one country. It only belongs to the moon people living on the moon.
2007-11-05 08:32:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
no during or after the cold war russia and the usa signed a treaty that stated that no one will beable to own the moon.
2007-11-05 08:30:47 · answer #5 · answered by pyrokleptomanic08 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No its not owned. It was just discovered by the country that landed there.
2007-11-05 08:32:10 · answer #6 · answered by krennao 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't belong to anyone, but its creator
2007-11-05 08:34:26 · answer #7 · answered by Carolina 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you look back in history and new land was discovered it was claim by the country who discovered it
IE... America was claimed by England because they said they discovered it
so...............
Since we were the first to land on the moon and we placed an American flag there I say it belongs to the people of ......
The United States of America
2007-11-05 08:31:16 · answer #8 · answered by mmmkay_us 5 · 2⤊ 5⤋
jarhead is 4.0 out of 4.0.........
2007-11-06 07:04:00 · answer #9 · answered by yankee_sailor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋