Fo
ce tu ies,
ow i g
la d
has
mea t
havi g
a
place
that
ca
be
measu ed,
divided
a d
legally
t a sfe ed.
De is
Hope
thought
he
had
fou d
a
exceptio .
I
the
late
20th
ce tu y,
while
co side i g
how
to
make
mo ey
f om
p ope ty,
the
u employed
Ame ica
tu ed
his
atte tio
away
f om
la d
o
Ea th
a d
towa ds
the
moo .
He
had
ead
the
1967
U ited
Natio s
Oute
Space
T eaty,
which
p eve ts
cou t ies
f om
claimi g
celestial
bodies
as
thei
te ito y.
Hope
believed
the
wo di g
left
a
ope i g
fo
a
p ivate
i dividual.
He
decla ed
the
moo
his
p ope ty,
divided
it
i to
pa cels
a d
bega
selli g
ce tificates
to
custome s
a ou d
the
wo ld.
The
idea
att acted
buye s,
but
it
also
aised
a
basic
legal
questio :
ca
a yo e
actually
ow
a
piece
of
the
moo ?
How
a
u employed
ma
tu ed
the
moo
i to
a
p ope ty
idea
Hope’s
sto y
sta ted
whe
he
was
out
of
wo k
a d
thi ki g
about
how
he
might
make
mo ey
f om
p ope ty.
Real
estate
seemed
familia
e ough,
but
the e
was
a
p oblem:
co ve tio al
la d
was
al eady
ow ed,
divided
a d
p iced
by
somebody
else.
The
moo
p ese ted
a
athe
diffe e t
possibility.Du i g
his
u ive sity
yea s,
Hope
had
e cou te ed
the
1967
U ited
Natio s
Oute
Space
T eaty.
The
ag eeme t
established
that
atio s
could
ot
claim
sove eig ty
ove
celestial
bodies
such
as
the
moo .
Hope
i te p eted
the
wo di g
as
leavi g
oom
fo
a
p ivate
i dividual
to
make
a
claim.
He
eve tually
se t
a
decla atio
to
the
U ited
Natio s
stati g
that
he
i te ded
to
claim
the
moo ,
divide
it
i to
pa cels
a d
sell
them.
He
expected
that
the
o ga isatio
might
espo d
with
a
legal
objectio .
Acco di g
to
Hope,
o
a swe
a ived.
The
legal
challe ge
behi d
Hope’s
claim
to
the
moo z
The
Oute
Space
T eaty
does
ot
simply
say
that
gove me ts
ca ot
ow
the
moo
while
leavi g
p ivate
citize s
f ee
to
do
so.
Its
p ovisio s
a e
co ce ed
with
atio al
activities
i
oute
space,
a d
legal
schola s
have
a gued
that
the
est ictio s
o
app op iatio
exte d
beyo d
gove me ts
acti g
i
thei
ow
ame.As
epo ted
by
Natio al
Geog aphic,
Ta ja
Masso -Zwaa ,
the
p eside t
of
the
I te atio al
I stitute
of
Space
Law,
explai ed
the
issue
i
comme ts
cited
by
Natio al
Geog aphic.
I
he
view,
the
t eaty’s
est ictio s
could
ot
be
bypassed
simply
by
putti g
the
claim
i
the
ha ds
of
a
p ivate
i dividual.That
disti ctio
matte s
because
buyi g
a
docume t
f om
Hope
does
ot
establish
i te atio ally
ecog ised
ow e ship
of
lu a
la d.
His
busi ess
has
eve theless
co ti ued
fo
decades.The
u usual
legal
a gume t
became
pa t
of
the
appeal.
Custome s
we e
ot
bei g
offe ed
a
co ve tio al
piece
of
eal
estate
i
the
se se
ecog ised
by
te est ial
p ope ty
law.
They
we e
buyi g
ce tificates
based
o
Hope’s
claimed
ow e ship
system.
The
su p isi gly
low
p ice
of
ow i g
a
ac e
o
the
moo
Hope’s
p ices
we e
desig ed
to
make
lu a
ow e ship
accessible
to
o di a y
custome s.
A
i dividual
ac e
was
adve tised
at
$19.95,
with
the
total
isi g
o ce
additio al
cha ges,
i cludi g
shippi g
a d
what
was
desc ibed
as
a
lu a
tax,
we e
i cluded.
La ge
pu chases
came
with
discou ts.
As
epo ted
by
US
News
&
Wo ld
Repo t,
at
o e
stage,
Hope
epo tedly
sold
a
pa cel
of
about
2.66
millio
ac es
fo
$250,000.The
umbe s
we e
difficult
to
compa e
with
o di a y
p ope ty
ma kets
because
the
u de lyi g
ow e ship
itself
was
ot
ecog ised
i
the
co ve tio al
legal
se se.
Repo tedly,
Hope
said
he
had
sold
mo e
tha
611
millio
ac es
of
lu a
la d.
Amo g
the
people
he
cou ted
as
ow e s
we e
fo me
US
p eside ts
Geo ge
H.W.
Bush,
Jimmy
Ca te
a d
Ro ald
Reaga .The
ce tificates
offe ed
somethi g
that
o di a y
p ope ty
could
ot:
a
ta gible
co ectio
to
a
place
that
most
people
could
o ly
eve
expe ie ce
f om
a
dista ce.
Hope’s
p ope ty
empi e
we t
fa
beyo d
the
moo
Hope
claimed
ights
ove
seve al
othe
celestial
bodies,
i cludi g
Ma s,
Ve us,
Me cu y,
Jupite ‘s
moo
Io
a d
Pluto.
Custome s
could
eve
pu chase
what
was
desc ibed
as
the
e ti ety
of
Pluto
fo
$250,000.He
also
established
what
he
called
the
Galactic
Gove me t,
p ese ti g
it
as
a
democ atic
gove me t
ep ese ti g
lu a
la dow e s
a d
people
co ected
with
his
othe
claimed
p ope ties.The
o ga isatio
was
mo e
tha
a
ame
o
a
website.
Hope
t eated
the
idea
se iously
a d
sought
ecog itio
a d
e gageme t
f om
established
i stitutio s.Amo g
his
ambitio s
was
getti g
the
I te atio al
Mo eta y
Fu d
to
ecog ise
the
Galactic
Gove me t’s
cu e cy,
k ow
as
the
Delta,
so
that
it
could
be
excha ged
mo e
easily
fo
co ve tio al
cu e cies.
That
effo t
did
ot
tu
Hope’s
fictio al
o
p ivate
system
i to
a
ecog ised
state.
Why
Hope
claimed
ights
to
the
moo ’s
valuable
esou ces
He
a gued
that
the
moo
co tai ed
vast
qua tities
of
helium-3,
a
isotope
that
has
att acted
i te est
because
of
its
possible
ole
i
futu e
uclea
fusio
tech ologies.
He
estimated
the
pote tial
value
of
lu a
ese ves
at
mo e
tha
$6
quad illio
a d
mai tai ed
that
his
p ope ty
ow e s
had
ights
to
them.
That
aised
a
much
la ge
questio
tha
who
ow ed
a
ac e
of
dusty
g ou d.If
lu a
mi i g
eve
became
comme cially
viable,
who
would
have
the
autho ity
to
g a t
pe missio ?
Could
a
p ivate
pe so
sell
ights
to
esou ces
o
a
celestial
body?
A d
would
a
ce tificate
issued
by
a
p ivate
compa y
have
a y
sta di g
agai st
a
gove me t
o
i te atio al
o ga isatio ?Hope’s
positio
was
clea .
He
ega ded
mi i g
a d
pe ma e t
co st uctio
o
la d
he
had
sold
as
activities
equi i g
pe missio
f om
his
o ga isatio .
I te atio al
space
law
does
ot
ecog ise
that
a a geme t
simply
because
Hope
says
it
exists.
Why
Hope
said
some
lu a
a eas
should
be
p otected
The e
was
also
a
co se vatio
eleme t
to
Hope’s
lu a
pla s.
He
said
he
had
established
23
so-called
celestial
ese ves,
i cludi g
locatio s
associated
with
the
Apollo
missio s
a d
the
moo ‘s
pola
egio s.
The
latte
have
att acted
pa ticula
scie tific
i te est
because
pe ma e tly
shadowed
a eas
ea
the
poles
co tai
wate
ice.Hope
said
he
ega ded
these
locatio s
as
histo ically
o
scie tifically
impo ta t
a d
did
ot
wa t
them
t eated
simply
as
o di a y
p ope ty.I
2011,
acco di g
to
Hope,
a
g oup
offe ed
$50
millio
fo
the
moo ‘s
o th
pole.
He
said
he
ve ified
that
the
p ospective
buye s
had
the
mo ey
but
ejected
the
p oposal.
His
stated
easo i g
was
that
lu a
la d
should
emai
available
at
a
elatively
low
cost
fo
people
who
might
eve tually
eed
it
fo
habitatio .
The
ma
behi d
the
moo
ce tificates
became
a
docume ta y
subject
He
appea ed
i
Lu a cy!,
a
docume ta y
about
people
whose
lives
had
become
closely
co ected
with
the
moo .
The
film
also
followed
Ala
Bea ,
the
Apollo
ast o aut
who
late
became
a
a tist,
a d
Ch istophe
Ca so ,
a
you g
ma
who
d eamed
of
pe ma e tly
movi g
away
f om
Ea th.
The
busi ess
kept
g owi g
despite
the
legal
u ce tai ty
By
the
time
of
the
2013
epo t,
Hope
said
sales
of
lu a
plots
had
ise
by
oughly
30%
followi g
the
completio
of
the
docume ta y.The
appeal
was
ot
ecessa ily
based
o
the
expectatio
that
custome s
would
o e
day
sta d
o
thei
pu chased
ac es.
Fo
ma y
buye s,
the
ce tificate
itself
was
the
poi t.
It
ep ese ted
a
small,
u usual
co ectio
to
o e
of
the
most
ecog isable
objects
i
the
ight
sky.The e
was
also
the
possibility,
howeve
emote,
that
the
moo
could
eve tually
become
a
place
whe e
people
lived
a d
wo ked.Hope
believed
that
the
futu e
was
app oachi g.
He
imagi ed
a
lu a
settleme t
built
a ou d
a
la ge
py amid-shaped
city,
with
a
base
measu i g
oughly
two
miles
by
two
miles.
As
p eside t
of
his
self-decla ed
Galactic
Gove me t,
he
ega ded
the
co st uctio
of
such
a
settleme t
as
o e
of
his
espo sibilities.
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