ABSTRACT
However, organisations such as the Lunar Embassy, based in California (where else could it possibly be?) are quick to gloss over these little difficulties and point out that you will be blissfully undisturbed; neither will there be any trouble with planning authorities. Up to the present time it is estimated that the Embassy and like organisations have sold over 100,000 square miles (259,000 sq km) of the Moon at around £3 per acre, and 15,000 square miles (39,000 sq km) of Mars at £19.50 a plot. For his modest plot, the proud purchaser receives a deed of ownership, a map, and copy of the Martian Bill of Rights. The latter document is issued by the Martian Consulate, though it is true that the authenticity of this Consulate seems a little dubious; its President and Chairman is a 49-year-old ventriloquist who has previously doubled as a car salesman. Nothing has been said about passports, and customs regulations will not need to be
PATRJCI< MooRE
ln fact, the question of ownership may well have to be tackled evenruaJJy if, as may be the case, \Ve establish the first Lunar Bases before rhe year 2020 and despatch the first !Vtartian ditions during the first half of the coming century. The example of Antarctica is encouraging, since teams from the various nations seem to be working there in harmony, but when we come to the Moon and Mars there will be endless regulations and red tape. As is weJJ known, there is no complex problem which United Nations bureaucrats cannot make worse. We must hope for the best.
