Posted on 02/08/2006 8:16:29 PM PST by KevinDavis
In a document titled "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery" released on the same day that President Bush announced his Vision for Space Exploration in January 2004, the White House directed NASA, as part of the new "Vison for Space Exploration" to "Conduct advanced telescope searches for Earth-like planets and habitable environments around other stars".
In a statement released today, the Planetary Society expressed their strong concerns about the cancellation of this and other space science missions. Planetary Society President, Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., observed that this action amounts to "essentially transferring funds from a popular and highly productive program into one [Space Shuttle] scheduled for termination."
(Excerpt) Read more at spaceref.com ...
Cannot be done. The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty prohibits.
Quitclaim deeds at best. Fraud otherwise.
And more, only a physical presence can be the basis.
The Report on Moon, Mars and Beyond, the President's base document for the new NASA program, says so in no uncertain terms. The Senate agrees about the Treaty: the Treaty effectively kills off any chance of meaningful private investment.
BTW-If NASA succeeds and sets up a base and mining facilities on the moon, I wonder what they'd do if China set up a base right next to ours, put a small fence around our base and told us not to trespass. I have a feeling this would cause quite an uproar and we would assert our national sovereignty, OST be damned!
A robot might be physical presence if the countries concerned agree on that. Most space development would be robotic, especially asteroid mining. It wouldn't be profitable if the firm had to provide a manned presence at one or more asteroids just to hold a claim.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.