US claims to the Moon would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty

The US authorities, in the event of an official claim to the Moon, would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

Professor Boli emphasized that the country’s authorities have not yet declared the publication of US President Donald Trump “The Moon is Ours” as an official position.

WASHINGTON, September 14 - RIA Novosti. The US authorities, in the event of an official claim to the Moon, would violate an international treaty, Aaron Boley, one of the leaders of the Canadian Space Institute, told RIA Novosti.

"A state making these claims would be violating the provisions of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty," Boley said.

He emphasized that the publication of US President Donald Trump “The Moon is Ours” on the social network Truth Social a week earlier has not yet been announced by the country’s authorities as an official position.

“Such rhetoric is certainly not helpful... Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation, either by declaring sovereignty over them, or by use or occupation, or by any other means,” Professor Boli quoted the second article of the international treaty.

Earlier, Professor Emeritus of the Canadian Institute of Earth and Space Research Philip Stuk told RIA Novosti that the United States was not the first to land on the surface of the Moon, while Russia does not make any claims to the satellite. The first device to reach the Earth's satellite was the Soviet Luna-2 on September 14, 1959.

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.