NASA managers are working on internal plans to protect the Apollo lunar landing “heritage sites” from potential damage from future visiting spacecraft – such as the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) vehicles – listing a long set of recommendations on keep-out zones, reports NASA Spaceflight.
If NASA proceeds to develop "keep-out zones" or "exclusion zones", no-fly zones for descent/landing vehicles, etc. around a number of sites, including Apollo landing sites, Surveyor sites, and S-IV B impact sites, on the surface of the moon for future explorers, it appears the space agency is seeking to create a surface property right on the moon.
The possibility of a NASA "keep-out zones" raises the specter of possible government action to claim a property right, perhaps creating a conundrum in international law, e.g. the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Three years ago, Popular Mechanics looked at the unusual legal problem.
1 comment:
Interesting post. It looks like I need to buy property on the moon before it's too late.
Post a Comment