The Battle for the Moon Begins?
Jan. 29th, 2010 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19In this post from BLDGBLOG - one of my favorite sites - the author discusses a recent move by the state of California to register items left behind on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission as "official State Historical Resource[s]."
I'm not entirely certain what California's claim on these items is. The Apollo 11 mission launched from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Johnston Atoll (part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and closer to Hawaii than California). None of the crew were from California, having each been born in Ohio, New Jersey, and Rome, Italy, respectively.
At any rate, California is not alone in this enterprise. Texas and New Mexico are also poised to join in the efforts. The plan is to have Tranquility Base ultimately established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thus protecting it from future tourists and vandals. (Which is putting the cart way ahead of the horse, I think.)
Of course, in accordance with international treaties no nation can claim the moon as sovereign territory, but there's no provision against claiming man-made items left on the moon.
I wonder what international response will be to this maneuver.
Discarded Apollo 11 items left on the moon get California historical status (L.A. NOW).
I'm not entirely certain what California's claim on these items is. The Apollo 11 mission launched from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Johnston Atoll (part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and closer to Hawaii than California). None of the crew were from California, having each been born in Ohio, New Jersey, and Rome, Italy, respectively.
At any rate, California is not alone in this enterprise. Texas and New Mexico are also poised to join in the efforts. The plan is to have Tranquility Base ultimately established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thus protecting it from future tourists and vandals. (Which is putting the cart way ahead of the horse, I think.)
Of course, in accordance with international treaties no nation can claim the moon as sovereign territory, but there's no provision against claiming man-made items left on the moon.
I wonder what international response will be to this maneuver.
Discarded Apollo 11 items left on the moon get California historical status (L.A. NOW).
