The Guardian is talking seriously about property rights on the Moon.

This caught my eye.

One small step for a man, perhaps, and one giant leap for a lawyer. Property rights on the mineral-rich moon - or for that matter Mars, Pluto or Alpha Centauri - remain something of a murky issue. So much so that the US National Academies of Science will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to clarify the issue. Space Settlement: Homesteading on the Moon will discuss the policy implications of a lunar colony and whether privately funded missions should be allowed to play a role.

It turns out that this question is indeed debated this Wednesday.

My apologies, I cut myself a little short and misread the conference announcement. I gather this is just meant to be a sexy rhetorical question to attract attention rather than a legitimate point of disagreement. Also, the question originally asked was "Should privately funded missions play a role in lunar settlement?" which is different than asking whether it should be allowed to play a role as the Guardian spins it.

Even though the press no longer giggles, it still insists on asking the wrong questions IMHO.

Even though the press no longer giggles, it still insists on asking the wrong questions IMHO.

That has long since become their defining characteristic.

So, is the U.S. going to take on the rest of the planet just to stake a claim to some land on the Moon? At last, a legitimate reason for space-based weapons!

So, is the U.S. going to take on the rest of the planet just to stake a claim to some land on the Moon?

The US government should NOT stake a claim or assert sovereign rights.

US citizens, as private citizens, absolutely should stake claims, or at least acquire possession and assert a right to non-interference as allowed by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

Property rights on the moon will be decided the way they've always been throughout human history. Whoever can get there, provide supplies and defend the claim will get to keep the land.

Property rights on the moon will be decided the way they've always been throughout human history. Whoever can get there, provide supplies and defend the claim will get to keep the land.

A. I agree; and

B. A robust public relations campaign back on Earth will greatly assist "defending the claim"

(Whether a PR campaign "should" assist establishing a lunar property rights claim is a great beer and pretzels question however I assert that regardless of how we answer the "should" question, public relations simply will play a huge role for whoever first seeks to successfully claim lunar property.)