No one can promise you the moon, but they might be able to buy you a plot on it. This is not Moon States' slogan, but it could be because this American company, headed by Dennis M. Hope, sells plots on the moon for €34.00 per 0.4 hectares. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and John Travolta, and even two former presidents of the United States are already co-owners of the moon, and the price is within almost everyone's reach.
But where does all this madness come from? The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits any country from claiming sovereignty over any celestial body. This agreement, promoted by the US and the USSR at the height of the space race, has since been signed by 113 countries. However, the treaty does not mention private individuals claiming ownership of the moon, something that Dennis M. Hope took to his own territory (excuse the pun) in the 1980s.
The visionary sent a letter to the United Nations, announcing that he claimed to own the moon and nine planets and intended to parcel up their surface and sell it. Since then, that is what he has been doing.
The sale of land on the moon is estimated to have brought him a profit of €9 million, says Hope. He sells a 0.4-hectare plot for €34, meaning the entire lunar surface would be a $32.774 million deal.
His company, Moon States, has six million clients, meaning that the Moon would be owned by all these people, including Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and even two former US presidents, according to Hope.
However, there is no legal basis for Hope's invention, so the deeds of sale of the Moon plots are invalid. ABC reports, "It is a scam because the moon and other celestial bodies cannot be appropriated", but is €34 worth more than the excitement of thinking that you are part owner of the moon?
Article seen on (the CaixaBank blog in Spanish)
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