Re: Can I own a NEO?

From: Henry Spencer (henry_at_spsystems.net)
Date: 11/19/04 

Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 17:44:16 GMT

In article <Vtnnd.5859$pK6.855@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
Matthew Hagston <matthewhagston@hungates.com> wrote:
>Do you all think this may be one reason why contries are not pushing harder
>to get to other planets or objects in the solar sytem. Due to the fact that
>nobody can officialy claim it, therefore it's harder to really protect your
>outpost you just set up?

No. "Protect" your outpost against what?

Governments currently see no value in off-Earth property claims, and hence
the impossibility of such claims isn't an issue. (In fact, this is a
common pattern: when nations sign a treaty agreeing not to do X, very
often that means they have decided that doing X is of no particular value
to them anyway, so long as they don't have to keep up with somebody else
doing it, and it would save a lot of trouble if everybody agreed not to.) 

-- 
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend."    |   Henry Spencer
                                -- George Herbert       | henry@spsystems.net