Eros
Since
the only other astronomical body that humans have set foot on is the moon, few
laws have been put into place governing who can own what in outer space.
Believe it or not, people have tried to claim full ownership of astronomical
objects. A man by the name of George W. Nemitz actually tried to claim the
near-Earth asteroid Eros as his property! Here's the story: Nemitz worked for a
company which helped construct the Near-Earth
Asteroid Rendezvous Probe Shoemaker, which landed on Eros in 2000. Nemitz
claimed that since he helped build the spacecraft, he could claim ownership of
whatever body it landed on, under the Homestead Principle. This principle
states that if you discover a new piece of land that is not owned by another
person or government (and I'm sure law makers were implying a piece of land on
Earth), and you make use of it in some way, you can claim ownership. Thus,
Nemitz dubbed Eros as a "spacecraft parking facility" and mailed NASA
a $20 parking ticket for landing their spacecraft on "his" asteroid!
Can you believe that? To Nemitz's dismay, NASA refused to pay the parking
ticket, and a court judge dismissed his case.
Image Credit:NEAR PRoject, NLR, JHUAPL, Goddard SVS, NASA
