IN 1969 we landed on the Moon.

The astronauts proudly stuck an American flag into the ground.

Were they staking a claim to the dusty rock?

No, and it wouldn’t have been possible anyway.

Just two years earlier, a United Nations treaty had been created to prohibit any nation owning the moon.

This treaty declared that the moon and other ‘celestial bodies’ were non-negotiable, not to be bought and resold for monetary gain.

So pretty much all countries have agreed to hold off on claiming the moon. But what about private citizens?

The treaty mentioned governments and their agencies but it left a gaping loophole, it neglected to mention private individuals!

Well, seeing an opportunity, one man had a crack at it and was successful!

Dennis Hope, an American entrepreneur, says he has owned the moon since 1980.

He was broke and going through a divorce when the idea of owning property came to him.

“Why not the Moon?” he thought, “nobody owns it yet.”

With nothing to lose he filed a claim with the United Nations for ownership of the Moon.

They never responded, and since Hope has never been challenged, he maintains that the moon is his to sell.

Before you laugh, consider that Hope has been in space real estate full time since 1995 and has sold over 600 million acres of lunar real estate.

On Hope’s website, Lunar Embassy, you’ll find that an acre of planetary land goes for as low as $29.95.

He’s now made around $11 million and has sold plots to movie stars, pop stars, politicians and ordinary folk from all walks of life.

What a perfect gift for the ‘man who has everything’.

While that may not matter much now, things could change soon.

Space tourism is on our doorstep, a Moon base is planned and already entrepreneurs are lining up to figure out ways of mining the lucrative mineralogy locked up in the lunar soil.

When we go we’re going to have to figure out a much more watertight system for handling legal issues in space.

We’re actually in the midst of a Moon rush right now.

A growing number of countries and companies have the lunar surface in their sights in a race for resources and space dominance.

So, are we ready for this new era of lunar exploration?

Recently, images were beamed back to Earth of China’s flag unfurled on the Moon.

It’s the country’s fifth landing there – and the first ever mission to return samples from the Moon’s far side.

Meanwhile, NASA wants to send humans back to the Moon, with its Artemis astronauts aiming for a 2026 landing.

China says it will send humans to the Moon by 2030.

And instead of fleeting visits, the plan is to build permanent bases.

Hey, it’s no longer science fiction, this is happening now!

If you’re under forty years of age and reading this, there’s a good chance you’ll holiday on the Moon one day.

If you think this is all ‘pie in the sky’, think again.

The first people to travel and holiday regularly in space have already been born.

The first people to live and work in space are being born now.

It’s that close!

See Dave’s website: www.davereneke.com.

By Dave RENEKE, Astronomer