FAQ's - Land Claims Recognition (LCR)
Answers to frequently asked questions about the land claims recognition concept are provided below.
Each link accesses a section on the Space Settlement Initiative website where answers are provided. A set of additional FAQ's is provided at the bottom of this page as well. A draft of a land claims recognition bill ready for consideration by Congress is posted here.
- What is the real purpose of enacting a land claims recognition law?
- Will promising property rights be enough to produce the necessary investment in developing affordable space transport?
- What does international law say about private property ownership in space?
- Can there be property ownership without national sovereignty?
- What if other nations refuse to recognize land claims in space?
- Why not give smaller, limited land grants for easier steps than settlement?
- Could lunar land really be worth enough money to make a difference?
- What conditions should the U.S. set for recognition of a claim?
- How much land should a settlement be able to claim...and why?
- Why must the space line and settlement be open to all paying passengers regardless of nationality?
- Wouldn't it help if a major company announced that, if a land claims recognition law were passed, it would try to develop affordable space transport?
- Are the weaknesses and compromises in this plan likely to be permanent?
- Didn't the earliest version of this plan talk about "Lunar land grants"? Why aren't you using that phrase any more?
- Did land grants work?
- You can't farm Lunar land, and Earth doesn't need its minerals. So how could Lunar land be put to profitable use?
- If you can't give figures, now, proving the profitability of the end uses of Lunar land, how could anyone raise big money for Lunar land?
- Could other sources of revenue be enough, without land claims recognition?
- What if the settlement does not produce enough operating revenue to pay off its debts and make a profit?
- Could this law produce a new "space race"?
- Why is U.S. legislation, in particular, so important?
- Could the U.S. withdraw from the Outer Space Treaty, claim national sovereignty on the Moon, then award property rights to whomever it pleased?
- What about defense? Does recognizing a land claim obligate the U.S. military to defend the settlement?
- What effect would this have on NASA and the aerospace companies?
- Who came up with this idea?
Additional FAQ's
The following are links to additional FAQ's.