Exploring Lunar Investments: The Trend of Moon Land Purchases Raises Questions on Legitimacy

In an unusual trend, individuals are purchasing plots on the Moon for their loved ones, but a closer look reveals potential scams. Companies like Lunarembassy, Cosmicregister, and Lunarregistry claim to sell lunar real estate, with Lunar Embassy, owned by Dennis Hope, asserting ownership of the moon itself.

A simple Google search will lead you to companies like Lunarembassy, Cosmicregister, or Lunarregistry. In fact, there are numerous news and other websites that offer a guide on how to buy land on the moon, complete with links to these mentioned websites.

 

We visited the Lunar Embassy website, owned by Dennis Hope, an individual who claims to own the moon (yes, we will get to that later). Now, here’s the thing: The Lunar Embassy is offering a piece of land on the moon, which is owned by their founder, Dear Dennis Hope.

 

The price? Just 31,00 INR. Now, if you are wondering how much land you will be getting, whether it’s one acre or ten acres, we don’t know

‘Man who owns the Moon’

Now, back to Dennis Hope, the man whose dream was to sell properties on the Moon and Mars. According to their own website, Dennis Hope is “The Man Who Owns the Moon.” Here’s his story:

“In 1980, a very bright, young, and enterprising Mr. Dennis Hope, inspired by the Homestead Act of 1862 during the westward expansion, visited his local US Government Office for claim registries. At the San Francisco County Seat, he staked a claim for the entire lunar surface, as well as the surfaces of all the other eight planets in our solar system and their moons (except Earth and the sun). Initially, he was considered a crackpot until, after 3 supervisors, 2 floors, and 5 hours later, the main supervisor accepted and registered his claim of ownership.”

Just like that, the former car salesman ended up owning the moon within 5 hours, something no country could do for decades. Now, he is selling moon land, and by 2014, he had earned more than 11 million dollars selling pieces of the Moon.

 

If you think that’s all, you’re mistaken. Even though the Lunar Embassy claims that THEY ARE THE ONLY LEGAL COMPANY that can sell land on the Moon, this has not stopped other companies from trying to rip off Dennis Hope (sarcasm).

Other sites like the Lunar Registry or Cosmic Registry are also selling pieces of land on the Moon, and people end up buying from them.

 

These sites have also claimed that various actors like Sushant Rajput, former President Donald Trump, and even Mukesh Ambani have bought Moon land. To prove this, they have posted the most abysmal advertisements on their social networking sites.

Now, here’s the question: Is it a scam or not?

Let’s understand it legally:

According to The United Nations-sponsored 1967 Outer Space Treaty, outer space is described as the “province of all mankind” and forbids all nations from claiming territorial sovereignty.

Article VI of the treaty assigns responsibility for activities in space to States Parties, whether they are carried out by governments or non-governmental entities.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 had been ratified by 102 countries by 2013, including all the major space-faring nations.

The surge in moon land sales prompts a critical question: Is it a scam to sell something that legally cannot be owned?