h a l f b a k e r y"Bun is such a sad word, is it not?" -- Watt, "Waiting for Godot"
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There should be National Parks on Mars to preserve places of natural beauty (such as Apollinaris Patera volcano) or historical interest (like the Viking landing sites). These places should be fenced off and there should be little guard houses at the entrances.
By designating such parks, we can
ensure that nobody builds a golf course in the middle of West Candor Chasma or walks all over the bounce marks left by Opportunitys airbags.
Moon treaty
http://www.iasl.mcg.../spacelaw/moon.html [AO, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]
1966 UN declaration
http://www.oosa.unv...paceLaw/lpostxt.htm "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies" [kropotkin, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]
[link]
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mystery tours to The Beagle landing site. |
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Are there already any earthly agreements who has jurisdiction over other planets or is it still on a first come first grab basis? Like the old days, "I ... take this land for king/queen ..." |
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The 3 steps to owning the moon... 1 Get rich. 2 get several ICBMs. 3 Go to moon. |
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The UN Moon Treaty (see link), which also applies to other planets, says that we all have to share the various celestial bodies, and not do any horrendous damage. I didnt notice anything in there about protecting sites of historic or natural importance, so, for instance, theres nothing to stop somebody from landing a probe right on top of Armstrongs footprint. |
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kbecker: the main documents regarding sovereignty over extraterrestrial real estate are the Outer Space Treaty of 1966 and the UN Moon Treaty of 1979. The former is ratified by most nations and states "Outer space and celestial bodies are not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." The later treaty makes similar claims, but is only ratified by 9 nations, not including the USA, Russia. or China. |
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Strike what I said before. Article 7 paragraph 3 of the 1979 treaty makes a provision for designating international scientific preserves for areas of special scientific interest, but its vague and doesnt necessarily include sites that have historical or cultural importance. |
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No relationship to Bert Parks. |
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Thanks for the links. -- //not including the USA, Russia. or China// That gets me worried. Will there suddenly be the old Europe or weak UN gain, when Spirit finds oil on Mars? What if Marsians have weapons of Mars destruction? |
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just so long as you keep your hands off Europa... |
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I think this is more or less already underway. NASA took the first steps in this direction by renaming landers after they've landed. There are three of them up there now, the Sagan, Columbia and Challenger Memorial Stations (formerly Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity landers respectively). I can imagine that future Mars explorers who come across these areas will hold the grounds somewhat sacred. |
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