Property On The Moon

On July 20, 1999, the Lunar Republic Society was founded, with a goal of returning to the Moon in order to establish permanent bases — for scientific research, tourism and manufacturing — without using government funding.

In the five years since then, the Lunar Republic Society has enrolled over 800,000 citizen-partners from around the world, and from all walks of life. Through grants, endowments, individual contributions, and an innovative program which offers a limited number of lunar land claims to the general public, the goal of returning humans to the Moon is now closer than at any time in the past thirty years.

During the formation of the Society, various methods for raising funds were considered. One that offered the most promise also attracted the most controversy — offering a select number of subscription "land claims" to property on the Moon; in essence, offering claims which would become legal deeds to the land once permanent occupation was established.

This method, a variation of which was used by the National Geographic Society in the early part of the Twentieth Century in order to provide funds for Peary's journey to the North Pole, as well as other expeditions, would allow the greatest opportunity for participation by the public while providing a steady revenue stream for the project.

While controversial (the Society would essentially have to compete with the various and sundry "novelty lunar deed" companies that ply their wares on the Internet), the program was different in that it didn't involve a bogus "claim" to ownership of the entire lunar surface. Instead, it presented the opportunity for anyone to own a piece of the Moon!

After attempting to administer claim sales on its own for several years, the Lunar Republic Society began a partnership with The Lunar Registry in order to focus its efforts on developing the actual lunar project, with the customer service and fulfillment role handled by a company better suited to these roles. The partnership was so successful that the Lunar Republic Society acquired the assets of The Lunar Registry in December 2002, making it a wholly-owned but independently operated subsidiary.

Under this lunar land claim program, the Lunar Republic Society and its citizen-partners will establish autonomous territories on the Moon under sovereign control, but respectful of international treaties and agreements. The establishment of an independent Lunar Republic, with a government freely elected by its citizens, is the cornerstone of the program.

To view a current listing of available properties, please click here.

· HOW MUCH PROPERTY IS BEING MADE AVAILABLE? The Lunar Republic Society has selected a dozen locations on the Moon in which it plans to construct settlements. These locations encompass not more than 1.5% of the Moon's total surface, or about 135-million acres of land. (The entire lunar surface covers approximately 9-billion acres.) The model for this program does not put the entire Moon under control of one entity, engenders international cooperation, and allows any interested government, organization or business enterprise to take part in the plan.

All sales are conducted in accordance with the Lunar Settlement Initiative, a key component in the global effort to provide a fair and equitable system for private and commercial exploration, settlement and development of Luna, without utilizing taxpayer funding. The recording and administration of property transactions is the responsibility of The Lunar Registry, which maintains an extensive public database of information* on all properties, as well as all ownership and transfer records.

· WHAT LOCATIONS ARE AVAILABLE? The current grouping of available properties includes premium tracts in the Sea Of Tranquility, Bay Of Rainbows, Sea Of Serenity, Lunar Alps and Lake Of Dreams, among others. For a complete list properties being offered to the general public, including proposed zoning, please click here.

· WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY? The Moon's environment is generally considered to be bleak and foreboding, but experts have discovered that the lunar surface is rich with valuable minerals that can be vital to sustaining life, including hydrogen and Helium3 (³HE).

While hopes remain high that ice crystals and, hence, water will be discovered on the lunar surface, thereby making settlement and resource development more practical (the recent Lunar Prospector expedition failed to locate anticipated deposits of ice crystals near the Moon's south pole), plans are continuing to proceed for public/private enterprise on Earth's nearest neighbor in space.

With the evolution of lower-cost launch vehicles and the advancement of proposals for Moon-based deep space observatories, communications centers, and resource mining facilities, the commercial era of lunar development is rapidly approaching.

To view a current listing of available properties, please click here.

* — Property records, which do not include personal information about the individual owner, are copyrighted and deposited in the United States Library of Congress (primary depository) and with international patent and trademark offices, including the United Kingdom (UK Patent Office), Japan (Japan Copyright Office), Russia (Rospatent) and with the United Nations (UN Depository Library), in compliance with the Berne Convention.