The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the Common heritage of mankind.

[Article II] of the Treaty states that ‘outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.’

The Outer Space Treaty, of which the United States is a signatory. Sorry, Newt Gingrich, looks like your moon colony idea won’t be happening anytime soon.

[Full treaty by the US State Department here]

150 Notes/ Hide

  1. dram-aturgy reblogged this from shortformblog
  2. deal-toyota-motor reblogged this from producermatthew
  3. baxendalewalker-minervatrust reblogged this from producermatthew
  4. panourisolare reblogged this from shortformblog
  5. 20x20-shed-plans reblogged this from shortformblog
  6. nierstenen reblogged this from shortformblog
  7. monitor-audio-rx6 reblogged this from shortformblog
  8. tweetthebirdy reblogged this from jenarwen
  9. jenarwen reblogged this from shortformblog
  10. producermatthew posted this