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An Initiative to Promote Privately Funded
Exploration and Settlement of Luna
Opened
For Comment 20 July 2003
| PURPOSE | INITIATIVE
| SETTLEMENT | SIZE OF LAND
CLAIMS |
| PURCHASE LIMITS | PRICING |
SALES TERM
| DIVISION OF PROCEEDS |
| PROPERTY & MINERAL RIGHTS | CONSERVATION
| LEGAL RECOGNITION |
| REVISIONS
& AMENDMENTS |
(1): COMPLIMENTARY PROPERTIES | TAXES
|
| (2): DISCOUNTS
& COMMISSIONS | PARTIES TO AGREEMENT
|
| (3): GOVERNMENT ALLOCATION |
PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS & NOMENCLATURE |
Purpose. To
recognize that the future of humankind may rest beyond Earth,
and that the resources to develop programs for the exploration,
settlement and development of Luna, Earth's Moon, may best be
provided through an international public-private partnership
with the commercial space industry, now, therefore, be it
resolved that an initiative shall be established to provide the
framework for such cause.
Whereas,
In the course of human progress, our dreams and
aspirations lead us to reach beyond the Earth that we know,
Mindful of the sake and safety of humankind in the
future; acknowledging Luna's promise as a center of study and research for astronomers,
geologists and other members of the scientific community; and
hopeful of providing alternative supplies of energy and other
essential resources for both Luna and Earth,
Recognizing that Luna, as Earth's nearest
celestial neighbor, constitutes a common heritage with all
humankind, and must not be subject to national appropriation in
any manner whatsoever, and
With the knowledge that the settlement of Luna
is the next practical step in humankind's venturing deeper into
the Universe around us,
Be it resolved that this initiative to
promote the privately funded exploration and settlement of Luna
shall be recognized as the basis for providing financial
resources to attain this objective.
Initiative.
Any organization, whether operating for profit or not for
profit, shall be permitted to offer for sale to any private
entity {Note 1} a legal and valid claim to property on Luna in exchange
for payment that shall be directly utilized to fund a program
that will result in the human settlement of Luna.
Each organization, acting on behalf of its land
claim owners, shall be solely responsible for distributing and
investing the funds in a manner that shall successfully
accomplish the goal of returning humans to Luna.
Settlement.
For a land claim to be granted legal recognition and
certification, a human-based settlement must be established and
permanently and continuously inhabited on Luna. The location and
population of the settlement may change, as long as there
continues to be an inhabited settlement within the claim.
This settlement may include, but is not limited
to, temporary shelters and structures; mobile or moveable
vehicles or assemblies; permanent facilities for research,
mining, construction or human habitation; tourist
accommodations; and/or strategic emplacements.
Size of land claims.
Land claims shall be offered in individual parcels of one
acre. {Note 2} No single organization shall offer claims to more than ten
percent (10%) of the total land available on Luna.{Note
3}
Purchase limits.
Private entities shall not be limited in the amount of
individual parcels they may purchase under the terms of this
Initiative, although no single entity shall be permitted to own
or control, whether through purchases, contracts, agreements or
other instruments, more than ten percent (10%) of the total land
available on Luna.
Pricing. The
establishment of pricing for land claims shall be the sole
responsibility of the offering organization. As no value has
currently been determined for Lunar land, an organization may
consider such factors as fair value to the consumer and
potential return on investment in setting prices. Pricing may be
subject to reasonable additional processing charges or shipping
fees at the discretion of the offering organization; such
charges and fees shall be considered exclusive of land claim
offering price.
Example: A land claim is priced at $50.
An individual purchases a five-acre claim. An additional fee of
$5 is assessed for postage and handling to ship the documents to
the consumer. The shipping fee is not subject to the Division
of proceeds statute (q.v.) of this Initiative.
Sales term. Any
organization offering land claims for sale must establish a
projected length of sales term as part of any settlement project
proposal.
Example: Organization A plans to offer land
claims during a sales term of ten years in order to
finance its settlement project.
Division
of proceeds. Any organization offering land claims
for sale must direct not less than ninety-five percent (95%) of
all revenues received exclusively toward a settlement project;
conversely, not more than five percent (5%) of all revenues
received may be utilized to pay for operating expenses.
Property and mineral
rights. Upon the recognition and certification of
land claims, the land owner shall be entitled to inhabit and
develop the property in any manner, subject to any laws or
statutes that may be established by a sovereign, independent
Lunar government, which shall be freely elected by its citizens.
Property ownership on Luna shall be held as fee simple,{Note 4}
with mineral rights extending to a plumb depth of five
kilometers below the height of average terrain ("BHAT"),
to be determined by in situ engineering surveys.
Conservation.
Provisions shall be made for the respectful conservation and
preservation of Luna's distinctive geographic features -
especially major craters, mountains and other unique formations
- as well as the historic landing sites of earlier visitors from
the Luna, Ranger, Surveyor and Apollo missions, as the legacy of
all humankind.
No organization may offer for sale, and no
private entity may claim, possess, develop or otherwise alter,
any geographic formation or historical site catalogued in the
Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature as established by the
International Astronomical Union and maintained by the USGS
Astrogeology Research Program (http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/moon/moonTOC.html).
Legal recognition.
Any settlements established under the provisions of this
Initiative shall be recognized as legal under international
public law. In compliance with international protocol,
notification of the establishment of a settlement or settlements
shall be presented in writing to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations within ten days of human occupation.
Complimentary properties.
(Amended 7/15/2003) An organization or its designated
representative may offer land claims in limited quantities on a
complimentary basis ("comp") as a marketing,
advertising or sales incentive gift to a private entity, as long
as the gift, or the act of giving the gift, does not violate the
laws of any jurisdiction. The full-value cost of any gift
offered under this Initiative must be reimbursed in full to the
escrow account for the offering organization.
Example: Agency B, acting as the
representative of Organization A, offers the gift of five acres
of property to John Smith for winning a sales promotion contest.
The property is currently offered for sale at $40 per acre on
the open market. Agency B must reimburse the account of
Organization A for the full value of the land claim (5 x $40 = $200).
Taxes. (Amended
7/15/2003) No organization shall impose or levy a tax or
other fee upon a private entity prior to the establishment of a
human settlement on Luna that is under the control of a
sovereign, independent Lunar government, which shall be freely
elected by its citizens. A fee for document preparation, order
fulfillment or shipping charges shall not be considered as a tax
for the purposes of this Initiative.
Discounts and
Commissions. (Amended 7/20/2003) (i) An offering agency may
extend discounted pricing on properties totaling not more than
ten percent (10%) of the per-acre price to any qualifying
private entity. (ii) An offering agency may pay a
commission totaling not more than ten percent (10%) of the
per-acre price to any authorized or designated re-selling agent.
The provisions of this statute shall not be applicable to any
offers or agreements made prior to the enactment of this
initiative.
Parties To Agreement.
(Amended 7/20/2003)
This agreement shall be binding upon any signatory organization that
expresses an intention to participate in the Initiative.
Signatory organizations shall have sole discretion over the
enactment, amendment and implementation of the Initiative.
Government allocation. (Amended
8/6/2003) Any Lunar government, freely elected by the
inhabitants of Luna, shall be permitted to set aside certain
areas designated for special scientific, geological, scenic,
utility, strategic protection, or other use as determined by
said government. Concessions shall be made to allow reasonable
access to such areas by commercial or private enterprises.
Property descriptions and nomenclature.
(Amended 8/6/2003) Any parcel of land offered must be
characterized as mare, highland, mixed, or other; and must be
described in terms of maximum difference of height (altitude) of
terrain, e.g., "flat to within five meters" or
"hilly slope of 100 meters from lowest to highest
point," etc. The purpose of this statute shall be to give
the landowner the best possible approximation of the quality and
potential for settlement and development of the property, and
must be considered as an estimate pending actual in-situ surveys
of the property.
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Footnotes.
{1} — Private entity:
An individual, corporation or consortium of companies, which is
not controlled by a sovereign state or government. [RETURN
TO TEXT]
{2} — Acre: Equal to 43,560
square feet or 4,840 square yards in English measure. The metric
equivalent is 0.4 (2/5) of a hectare (4,047 square meters). [RETURN
TO TEXT]
{3} — For the purposes of
this document, it is established that Luna comprises nine
billion (9,000,000,000) total acres of land. [RETURN
TO TEXT]
{4} — Fee simple:
generally recognized as the most common type of real estate
ownership, under which the owner is allowed to have unlimited
control over the deeded property. [RETURN
TO TEXT]
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