I wouldn't have thought he would have any plans to do that because of the Outer Space Treaty. But if anyone did - well - several people have already claimed various things in space. E.g. Martin Juergens from Germany claims the Moon, on the basis that it was granted to his family by the King of Prussia in 1756. Gregory W. Nemitz amusingly claimed an asteroid just before NASA landed on it and issued NASA with a $20 parking fee for landing on it - and took it through the courts. A Spanish woman claims ownership of the sun in 2010, but she was beaten to it by a Lawyer Virgiliu Pop "Claims" Ownership Of The Sun (2002) and many other celestial bodies been claimed at one time or another.
So - is easy to make a claim like that, many have. But it's got no basis in law.
The Outer Space Treaty gives every country the responsibility for making sure its citizens abide by the treaty, and explicitly rules out ownership of celestial bodies, and requires the member states to supervise the activities of their citizens in space to make sure they comply with it.
If anyone did try to claim somewhere in space, would be a bit like this Russian who planted a Russian flag on the sea bed below the N. Pole and claimed the sea bed there for Russia. Russia defends North Pole flag-planting
For more, see You can't own the Sun. No. Not yours.
And in practice none of the space companies have made any suggestion that they want to own Mars or anywhere else.
Except space miners.
They want to have ownership of the materials they mine in space, so that they can return them to Earth and sell them.
That's another question - okay - you can't own celestial bodies, but can you own materials mined from them, and sell those materials, e.g. platinum, or ice (for water and rocket fuel in LEO etc)?
That is more of a gray area, likely to lead to much legal discussion etc.
I've talked about that a bit in my other answers e.g. here:
Robert Walker's answer to Is it lawful or do laws even exist in the instance of a private space company like SpaceX claiming a part of a celestial body as its territory?
So - is easy to make a claim like that, many have. But it's got no basis in law.
The Outer Space Treaty gives every country the responsibility for making sure its citizens abide by the treaty, and explicitly rules out ownership of celestial bodies, and requires the member states to supervise the activities of their citizens in space to make sure they comply with it.
States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. When activities are carried on in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, by an international organization, responsibility for compliance with this Treaty shall be borne both by the international organization and by the States Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization.
(emphasis as copied from this : You can't own the Sun. No. Not yours.)
If anyone did try to claim somewhere in space, would be a bit like this Russian who planted a Russian flag on the sea bed below the N. Pole and claimed the sea bed there for Russia. Russia defends North Pole flag-planting
For more, see You can't own the Sun. No. Not yours.
And in practice none of the space companies have made any suggestion that they want to own Mars or anywhere else.
Except space miners.
They want to have ownership of the materials they mine in space, so that they can return them to Earth and sell them.
That's another question - okay - you can't own celestial bodies, but can you own materials mined from them, and sell those materials, e.g. platinum, or ice (for water and rocket fuel in LEO etc)?
That is more of a gray area, likely to lead to much legal discussion etc.
I've talked about that a bit in my other answers e.g. here:
Robert Walker's answer to Is it lawful or do laws even exist in the instance of a private space company like SpaceX claiming a part of a celestial body as its territory?
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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