What would be the ideal gift for you this new year? How about an area of land on the Moon? Sounds exciting? A man from Rajasthan had the same idea when he bought 3 acres of land on the celestial body and gifted it to his wife on their 8th wedding anniversary.
The awestruck wife, Sapna Anija had asked for a special gift from her husband Dharmendra Anija who went ahead to get more ~extra~ and get her ownership of a piece of the moon.
“It was our wedding anniversary on December 24. I wanted to do something special for her. Everyone gifts earthly possessions like cars and jewelry, but I wanted to do something different. Therefore, I purchased land on the moon for her,” he said.
The land was bought via a company called Luna Society International that claims to “sell” moon land. Dharmendra said that the complete process of buying the land took about a year.
“I’m happy. I think I’m the first man in Rajasthan to buy land on the Moon,” said a delighted Anija.
The wife, equally elated, said that she hadn’t expected to get a gift as such as it was “out of the world”, quite literally.
“I’m extremely happy. I never expected he would gift me something so special. The party was organized by professional event organizers, and the setting was surreal. It felt like we are literally on the moon. There during the ceremony, he gifted me a framed certificate of the property document,” said Sapna.
Neeraj Kumar of Bodh Gaya, months ago, had also bought an acre of land on the celestial body for gifting himself on his birthday, apparently after getting inspiration from other Bollywood stars who own a piece of moon land, including late Sushant Singh Rajput, Shahrukh Khan, and others.
The question is, however, is it possible to actually “buy” land on the moon?
Practically- yes, technically- no.
The answer lies within the treaty signed by 109 countries of the world that have agreed not to claim any area of the moon under the Outer Space Treaty. This ensures that none of the countries bound claim the moon to be theirs as it is an individual body. Yet, many companies allege that they can sell people land on the moon.
Is it legal? It isn’t, especially for Indians as India also takes one spot in the list of nations that are bound by the treaty.
It all started on 26th January 1967 when the UK, USA, and the Soviet Union signed the treaty concerned with what countries are allowed to do with the outer space bodies and what they aren’t entitled to do, or rather not liable to. A clause of the same states, “Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”
However, many companies believe they have found a loophole by saying that “nations” are bound by the treaty, not any individual or company, claiming which, these firms are freely selling the moon.
But can these buyers actually claim the land? Again, no. The land, which can be bought for as less as Rs. 3500 per acre, is nothing but an expensive piece of paper, according to experts. While the land on earth itself is getting sold for crores of rupees, one can only imagine what the actual price of the moon would be, which is much smaller than earth too, increasing its value.
The company, International Lunar Registry is “selling” moon land with the designation of each portion under different names like Bay of Rainbows, Sea of Rains, Lake of Dreams, Sea of Tranquility, and others.
While one is completely free to buy the plot, none can claim the land but only own a printed paper stating the latitudes their landfalls in.
Space law expert Dr. Jill Stuart in The Moon Exhibition Book wrote, “At the risk of disappointing any proud owners, claims to land would be very unlikely to be upheld under international law and in any case several companies claimed the same plots of a land many times over.”
Why do people buy it then?
Some do it for the sake of feeling the joy and pride that comes with the realization that they own a piece of the moon, while others are ignorant. Either way, the bottom line remains that none can own it, although many believe otherwise.
