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LEADERSHIP QUOTE OF THE DAY (23 May 2012): You gain STRENGTH| COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. - Eleanor Roosevelt

TRAVEL

Unreal Estate

Property prices have sky-rocketed over the last few years and buyers have had to look further and further outside of the main areas for an investment. Some are even looking outside the planet.

It might sound like something out of an Asimov Sci-Fi novel but over the last few years, buyers have been buying up lunar sections like they’re going out of fashion. Although there is a United Nations Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967, which states that no company or government can lay claim to extraterrestrial land, it doesn’t make any mention of individual or corporate ownership.

It’s a loophole that has been taken advantage of by Dennis Hope, the self-titled Big Cheese of the Lunar Embassy, which in 1980 claimed ownership of the moon and ever since, has been selling off its nine billion acres. Although there a few other companies selling lunar plots that have started up over the years, the Lunar Embassy remains the biggest. So far, it has sold five million pounds worth of one acre plots to 3.5 million lunar land owners all over the world. Customers are said to include Carrie Fisher, William Shatner and other Star Trek actors.

Granted, a lot of the plots would have been bought for their novelty value but there are still some owners who take their little piece of the Moon seriously. A few of them have even become a little territorial. Some have sent letters to George Bush warning him not to let astronauts leave rubbish on their land, and threatening to charge rent for any NASA landings. Most of these concerns came about after a speech George Bush made in 2004 when he outlined a plan to build on the moon by the year 2020.

NASA is currently using the Hubble Space Telescope to scout possible locations as part of this grand scheme and a more in-depth mission is planned in 2008, when they will send the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter into a low orbit around the Moon to check for frozen patches of water, make laser maps of the terrain and photograph its entire surface. This information will provide NASA with invaluable information when it comes to deciding on the best building spots and the best locations for energy production. Particular focus will be on the Moon’s poles which offer the most potential in these areas.

NASA isn’t the only one with its sights set on a lunar base. Although the Moon might just appear to be an oversized ball of grey dust, it is actually rich with potential resources in the form of ilmenite, a mineral from which hydrogen, helium and oxygen can be extracted. As well as being used to create air and water, the gas can be burned to create electricity; something that has not gone unnoticed by Russia and Japan, who are also looking at possible lunar bases in order to take advantage of these resources. Last year, Keiji Tachikawa, president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unveiled a plan to build a lunar base in the year 2025. The plan also involves using developed versions of Sony’s Qrio and Honda Motor’s Asimo humanoid robots to build the base and mine for minerals. Nikolai Sevastianov, the head of Russia’s RKK Energia energy company says that his company plans to set up a moon base by 2015. The plan also includes extracting helium-3 from the moon and shipping it back to Earth as a replacement for the Earth’s depleting fossil fuels. Helium-3 hasn’t been studied much because there is so little of it on Earth but Scientists believe that it could be used in specially designed fusion reactors to create electricity without producing nuclear waste. RKK Energia is currently designing a transport ship to deliver the helium and a ferry ship to help with the construction of the moon base.

Although a few lunar property owners might be upset about all these big lunar plans, the reality of the situation is that at the moment, the value in moon property is mostly a novelty one. Actual value will only come from the potential use and development of the land.

The more NASA and similar organisations begin to develop plans for the moon, the more of a reality building on the moon will become. This also leads the way for private exploration and further on down the track, the moon could actually become a hot tourist destination. The reduced gravity means that there will be the possibility of constructing buildings many times taller than we can build on Earth. It also opens up the possibility of some pretty novel transportation systems. Imagine being able to hover home after a hard day at the ilmenite mine.

Although the UN’s lawyers are quick to discount the Lunar Embassy’s claims of ownership of the moon, Dennis Hope claims to be in negotiation with the United States about the possibility of them leasing lunar land from him. If this were the case, it would certainly add weight to his claim of ownership. Further to this, Dennis Hope is planning on sending a rocket to the moon by the end of the year along with a CD containing all the information of the people that own lunar plots. Dennis Hope believes that will satisfy United States law regarding claims of land ownership. Those still cynical about the ‘Big Cheese’ and his real estate business might also care to note that other customers of the Lunar Embassy include 30 NASA employees and a certain George W. Bush.
Whatever happens with the Lunar Embassy and its claim, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist (sorry) to see the potential in our little grey neighbour. The biggest question I have is, can I still get a section next to Princess Leia’s?

Plitvice, Croatia

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