Selling the Moon

An Amazing Fact: In 1967, the United Nations signed the international Outer Space Treaty, which forbids any government from claiming the moon, or any part of space, as their territory. The treaty failed to mention anything about private individuals or corporations, so this left a loophole in international law as big as the expanse of space itself.

In 1980, Dennis Hope of Gardnerville, Nevada, sent letters to the United Nations, the United States government, and the government of the Soviet Union, informing them that he was officially claiming ownership of all planetary and lunar surfaces in our solar system (aside from Earth). He even gave them the opportunity to respond if they had objections, and as crazy as it sounds, he hasn’t heard a word from any of them since. 

So, for over 20 years Dennis Hope has been selling plots of acreage on the moon, Mars, and other heavenly bodies for a pretty reasonable price–about $20 an acre! And he’s been pursuing this not just as a novelty sale but a…