Professor Matthews: Moon claims have no legal basis

Jamie Matthews, professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of British Columbia, said the claims to the Moon have no legal basis.

The professor emphasized that even past US landings on the Moon do not give the country the right to lay claim to the satellite.

WASHINGTON, September 7 - RIA Novosti. The moon is common, and anyone’s claims to it have no legal basis, Jamie Matthews, emeritus professor of astronomy at the University of British Columbia, told RIA Novosti.

"No one can lay claim to the moon. That's what the Outer Space Treaty says," Matthews said when asked to comment on Trump's post on Truth Social.

As the scientist said, even past US landings on the Moon do not give the country the authority to lay claim to the satellite. “The US sending 12 people to the Moon 50 years ago does not mean anything in the context of its ownership,” the professor emphasized.

Trump previously published a picture with a satellite and the Earth in the background, signing: “The Moon is ours” and adding an American flag to the message.

The “Treaty on Principles for the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies” was adopted by a resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 19, 1966. The Soviet Union ratified it the following May, the United States in October, and China joined in December 1983. At the moment, the document is supported by 118 countries.

“Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is open to exploration and use by all States, without discrimination of any kind, on the basis of equality and in accordance with international law, with free access to all areas of celestial bodies,” the agreement states.

The Moon Treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 was not so successful. In subsequent years, the US leadership expressed disagreement with the document at the level of the executive and legislative branches. Currently, 18 countries have joined it. Modern experts point out that the agreement was a failure from the very beginning, since Russia, China and the United States did not want to sign and ratify it.

“After a decade of negotiations, the agreement was ultimately not signed,” NASA’s website says in an archived publication, “On the History of Lunar Management.”