Now that the US has decided on a return to the Moon, and private industry is primed to make it a permanent return, the internationalist crowd is looking to strangle the effort in the crib:
The statement-the Udaipur declaration – also has asked nations to commit themselves to treating the moon as a “common heritage of mankind”.
Uh-oh…here we go again.
The conference on the exploration and utilisation of the moon, organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the European space agency (ESA) [quelle surprise] and the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) have made an open request from space agencies to coordinate with each other in building lunar assents and infrastructure such as telecom systems including lunar Internet-and navigation systems.
Some scientists are concerned that given the fresh impetus to lunar missions and are likely rewards, human bases may also give way to claims of ownership to chunks of lunar real estate.
Heaven forbid someone claim property rights and actually make a buck or something dirty like that.
One suggestion was that any permanent base should have personnel from different countries, he said.
Is it just me, or does that sound like some kind of shakedown?
The Moon Treaty codified in December 1979 says the moon and its re-sources are the common heritage of mankind, no part of it can be claimed by government, NGO’s or by individuals. However, some private organisations have been offering real estate on the moon.
The article (conveniently) neglects to mention that — thank goodness — the U.S. is not a signatory to that abomination.
Space scientists have cautioned that the rush to the moon has created a need for collaboration to avoid duplication efforts.
Because, you know, free market competition is so wasteful and inefficient when compared to central planning.