On July 20, 1969, astronauts stepped onto the moon and planted an American flag—not to claim the moon but simply to commemorate the U.S. role in the first moon landing. 
 
 Forty years later a Nevada entrepreneur says he owns the moon and that he's interim president of the first known galactic government. 
 
 Dennis Hope, head of the Lunar Embassy Corporation, has sold real estate on the moon and other planets to about 3.7 million people so far. 
 
 (Also see "NASA Aims to Open Moon for Business.") 
 
 As his customer base grew, he said, buyers wanted assurances that their property rights would be protected. 
 
 So Hope started his own government in 2004, which has a ratified constitution, a congress, a unit of currency—even a patent office. 
 
 "We're now a fully realized sovereign nation," Hope said. 
 
 The trouble is that, legally, nobody can own the moon or anything else in space, for that matter, said Tanja Masson-Zwaan, president of the International Institute of Space Law, based in the Netherlands. 
 
 "What Lunar Embassy is doing does not give people buying pieces of paper the right to ownership of the moon," she said. 
 
 (Related photo gallery: "Eight Moon-Landing Hoax Myths—Busted".) 
 
 Lunar Loophole? 
 
 The controversy began in 1980, when Hope registered his claim to the moon with the United Nations. The claim went unanswered, so he figured his rights were secured. 
 
 To date his company has sold more than 2,500,000 1-acre (0.4-hectare) plots of lunar land, which Hope says are rich in an isotope of helium that has an earthly price tag of about U.S. $125,000 an ounce. 
 
 Today a deed for a plot, printed with the buyer's name, is selling online for $22.49, plus tax. 
 
 Legal experts counter that the UN didn't answer because it didn't have to: The moon is unclaimable under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which has so far been ratified by 100 UN member countries, including the United States. 
 
 Hope, however, said there's a loophole. 
 
 The treaty prohibits countries from claiming property in space, but "I filed my claim of ownership as an individual." 
 
 The fact that he's now claiming his Galactic Government has legal authority over the moon might seem problematic. But Hope said that the fledgling regime isn't a member of the UN and so doesn't have to abide by its laws. 
 
 Regardless of his current stance, Hope's original claim to the moon is simply not legal, the space-law institute's Masson-Zwaan asserts. 
 
 The UN treaty does apply to governments and their private citizens, which invalidates Hope's claim to the moon and other celestial bodies, she said. 
 
 But that shouldn't disappoint any prospective moon millionaires. 
 
 You don't need to own a place to make money on it, Masson-Zwaan said. But you do need a clear legal framework for doing business on the property—something the moon currently lacks. 
 
 A separate 1979 treaty known as the Moon Agreement sets up a framework for establishing clearer rules for managing the moon's natural resources, once the use of those resources becomes feasible. Such rules would apply to businesses looking to establish hotels, mining operations, and other commercial endeavors on the moon. 
 
 That agreement, however, has been ratified by just 13 countries, none of which are major spacefaring states. 
 
 Moon "Just Another Continent" 
 
 One of the main hang-ups with the 1979 treaty is how countries would share the wealth. 
 
 Some scientists think stores of helium-3, for example, could make the moon the next Persian Gulf. The gas, which is rare on Earth, has been tagged as a clean, renewable energy source of the future. 
 
 For billions of years the moon, unprotected by an atmosphere, has been showered with particles from the sun. This includes an as-yet undetermined amount of helium-3, which is now trapped in the moon's soil. 
 
 Its use as a fuel, though, hinges on developing a reliable process for fusion, a form of power generation that's "like a controlled hydrogen bomb explosion," said Peter Kokh, president of the nonprofit Moon Society. 
 
 Other more immediate uses for the moon include mining moondust for lunar construction, launching satellites, and setting up solar-power collectors, Kokh said—projects for the first wave of moon settlers. 
 
 (See "Moon Settlers May Be "Ski" Racers, Helium Miners, TV Stars?") 
 
 The moon "is just another continent across a different kind of sea," he said. 
 
 "We foresee a future in which people will be living on the moon and producing materials for solving Earth's problems." 
 
 United States of the Moon? 
 
 Kokh personally thinks that the best possible future is one in which the people of the moon rule themselves. 
 
 The process of colonizing the moon's challenging landscape will change the needs and wants of the society that settles there—just as the desires of English colonists changed when they got to the New World. 
 
 "Lunar settlers may want to bring the American way of life to the moon, but they will leave Washington, D.C., at home," he said. 
 
 "In the meantime it'd be better to have UN stewardship," Kokh said. "Right now [the world has] a working international relationship in the International Space Station ... and that's a good precedent." 
 
 Space-law expert Masson-Zwaan agrees, saying that the first bases built on the moon should be cooperative projects. 
 
 "I don't think we'll have people putting in their flags and saying, This is my little square, and I'm going to build a base here," she said. 
 
 Lunar Embassy's Hope, meanwhile, already seems to be charging toward establishing an autonomous moon government. 
 
 Recently, Hope said, he's been sending letters on behalf of his government asking other countries not to trespass on the moon without a license. 
 
 He's also battling the International Monetary Fund for official recognition of his government's currency, called the delta. 
 
 "The position of the Galactic Government is that we're not trying to distance ourselves from other governments. We just want recognition so we can work together," Hope said. 
 
 "We're not hostile, not angry—we just want to be accepted." 
 
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  ZOOM IN: Newly Restored, Interactive 1966 Earthrise Picture ||||| Early explorers risked their lives to reach the ends of the world, but not purely for the advancement of mankind. In reality, their bravery was motivated by one very powerful prospect: the possibility of wealth, be it treasure or land. 
 
 Today, Mars is our land beyond the horizon — a territory that can only be reached by plunging off the edge of our flat, incomplete map. But just like setting sail to the unknown West, sending a human to Mars is enormously expensive, not to mention dangerous, perhaps even deadly. 
 
 SEE ALSO: Sex on Mars: A Dangerous Love Story 
 
 But even with the clear risks, people are sinking millions into private Mars colonization projects. Will they eventually pull a King Ferdinand and claim Martian land as their own? 
 
 One Treaty That Holds the Cards 
 
 "There aren't really any laws that have been tested and widely adopted with respect to extraterrestrial land ownership or even ownership of the stuff that we bring back," says Andrew Rush, a space lawyer who regularly works with emerging aerospace companies. 
 
 Rush says the most applicable piece of law we have regarding real estate outside of Earth is the Outer Space Treaty, which has served as the basic framework for international space law since 1967. More specific, Article II of the treaty addresses claiming ownership of extraterrestrial property: 
 
 Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. 
 
 However, Rush tells Mashable any attorney could poke holes in the Outer Space Treaty because there are a lot of loose ends. It all comes down to vague phasing, starting with the term "celestial bodies," which isn't defined. 
 
 "The question is what is a celestial body? Is it a tiny asteroid? Does it include Mars? That's an open question," says Rush. 
 
 The second phrase that stands out is "national appropriation." To understand why, you must first put the Outer Space Treaty into context: It was written and signed before man ever went to the moon. The main reason for its creation stemmed from fear that the United States would plant a flag on the moon and claim ownership. The treaty was an effort to avoid fighting over territory. 
 
 "When considering both the literature and the time surrounding the formation of this treaty, it's pretty clear that they weren't trying to exclude private ownership," Rush says. "It was addressed towards government bodies." 
 
 However, Bas Lansdorp, head of private Mars colonization venture Mars One, disagrees with Rush's translation of Article II. 
 
 "As far as we know, which is confirmed by our experts, it is not possible to claim ownership of Mars land. Article II of the outer space treaty forbids appropriation," he tells Mashable via email. "What goes for governments also goes for individuals in those governments." 
 
 Although Lansdorp intends to send humans on a one-way mission to Mars in 10 years, he says that doesn't mean he will own the land. After all, "colonization" implies populating, cultivating and sharing a territory. 
 
 To illustrate his point, Lansdorp points to Dennis Hope, an entrepreneur who claimed ownership of the moon, then in 2009, maintained he had sold more than 2.5 million one-acre lunar plots for about $22 each. Hope said the Outer Space Treaty — which is quarterbacked by the United Nations — did not apply to him because he was an individual, not a country. 
 
 Hope, who heads the Lunar Embassy Corporation, then went on to establish his own Galactic Government, complete with a constitution, congress and its own currency. He fought to receive official recognition and argued that because the Galactic Government was not part of the UN, any agreements regarding the moon were irrelevant. So far, he has not been successful. 
 
 "The position of the Galactic Government is that we're not trying to distance ourselves from other governments. We just want recognition so we can work together," Hope told National Geographic in 2009. 
 
 When it comes to the moon, another piece of law called the 1979 Moon Treaty creates much more red tape for lunar entrepreneurship. The stringent treaty explicitly excludes national and personal ownership of the moon. But there's a catch: Only 15 countries have ratified it, and none of those are space-faring nations. 
 
 "It's like a landlocked territory dictating how a coastal territory uses its port," says Rush. 
 
 "But We Were Here First!" 
 
 It isn't entirely fair to equate future Mars explorers with Hope, who has never been in orbit, let alone set foot on the moon. If Hope had poured money into a successful trip to the lunar surface, he may have had a better case. In theory, that same notion applies to private Mars colonization projects. 
 
 However, Tanja Masson-Zwaan, deputy director of International Institute of Air and Space Law and one of Mars One's legal experts, says the law won't bend, even for someone who does complete a successful Mars mission. 
 
 "Landing there does not change anything. States cannot appropriate, neither can their citizens," she tells Mashable via email. "It would be too easy to say, 'My government cannot use a nuclear weapon, but I as a citizen am not bound by any treaty provision that my government accepted, so I am free to do as I like.' This argument simply does not fly." 
 
 SEE ALSO: Are We Meant to Live on Mars? 
 
 If all goes according to plan for Lansdorp and his Mars One venture, a group of at least 30 humans will settle on Mars in 2023. The colony will expand every few years as another group arrives to spend the rest of its participants' lives on the Red Planet. And as that settlement grows, more and more Martian land will be used. 
 
 As Earth's own colonization history has proved, placement and subsequent expansion of a settlement has essentially led to ownership of that land. But Lansdorp disagrees. 
 
 "It is allowed to use land, just not say that you own it," he says. "It is also allowed to use resources that you need for your mission. Don't forget that a lot of these rules were made long ago, when a human mission to Mars was not within reach." 
 
 Regarding resources, Lansdorp doesn't have concrete plans to send a return flight home with Martian matter, due to cost and technological constraints. 
 
 "Even if you would find a solid rod of gold or a big diamond, it would cost more to ship it to Earth than you would make selling it," he says. 
 
 Mars One operates as a non-profit entity, and the money raised will be used to fund its $6 billion mission. However, Lansdorp says if Mars One can sift through the regulations of sending materials from Mars to Earth, he may be interested in bringing home Martian rocks "for research, but also for our business case." 
 
 "Imagine how many people would be interested in a grain of sand from the New World!" he says. In that case, Lansdorp, who maintains that Mars One will not work with federal agencies in order to avoid politics, says he'll make those materials available — but not for free. 
 
 "Any research institute, including NASA, would be able to purchase parts of what we bring back to Earth," he says. 
 
 The Apollo program set a precedent that would make this possible. When astronauts brought back samples from the moon, the U.S. government entered into a bilateral deal with the USSR to share those samples (albeit without a fee, in the name of science). That agreement established if you go to a celestial body and dig something up, you can claim ownership. 
 
 "But that doesn't mean if you land on a planet you can claim the entire body," Rush points out. 
 
 If the mission is a success, the allocation of resources and colony expansion won't be an issue for Mars One in the beginning. The trouble will come when follow-up private ventures land on Mars. In that case, we can only assume that territories of some kind will have to be established. 
 
 "Let's see that when we get there," says Masson-Zwaan. "I assume at some point these settlers will become more and more detached from Earth, and will live by their own rules. I am not in favor of putting everything in stone too long in advance." 
 
 When that time comes, Rush says these settlers will have a strong voice in a courtroom on Earth. 
 
 "At the end of the day, if you put the money together to land on Mars, the law is unclear about whose law applies to you," says Rush. "It's sort of a Field of Dreams mentality. In this case, you're probably going to have your way when it comes to law." 
 
 Image by Mashable, Bob Al-Greene ||||| Want to own a little piece of heaven? It's yours, starting at $19.99 an acre--on the moon. If you prefer, you can buy property on Venus or Mercury. 
 
 Mercury is nice this time of year. The temperature tops 700 degrees but they say it's a dry heat. 
 
 If that's still too close to the hustle and bustle of Earth, there's Mars--33.9 million miles from Times Square. A deed, with your name on it, to a prime-view one acre lot on Mars will set you back $22.49, plus tax, plus shipping (not from Mars) and handling. 
 
 The man selling these lots is Dennis Hope, founder and owner of Lunar Embassy Corp of Gardnerville, Nev., which claims to hold the property rights to several heavenly bodies. How many? "Nine altogether," says Hope brightly. "When we started, Pluto was still considered a planet." 
 
 That was 1968. At the time, Hope was unemployed, hadn't worked for a year, was getting divorced and lived in San Francisco. Things looked bad. He remembers thinking that if only he only had property, things might be better. "Then I saw the moon," he recalls. "I thought, there's a lot of property up there." 
 
 He discovered that little stood between him and ownership—hardly more than stood between proud Cortez and, say, and Mexico, once the intrepid Spaniard had taken a shine to it. 
 
 Hope consulted what was—and is—the governing document of outer space, the "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies," known for short as the Outer Space Treaty. 
 
 While the Treaty explicitly forbids the nations of Earth from making territorial claims on other planets, it does not address what claims might legally be made by private companies—a possibility not imagined in 1968. 
 
 Hope asked three lawyers whether or not he could assert development rights to the moon. Two told him they didn't know. The third said, "Oh, sure, why not?" Hope was off and running. He has never received, he says, a challenge to his right to sell space real estate from any terrestrial government. 
 
 From peddling moon acreage, Hope branched out to the other properties in his nine-planet portfolio. 
 
 It's the moon that's been his biggest seller to date. Why? "You can look at it," he points out. "It's all view property." Still, by his own estimate, he has sold only about 7.5 percent of the moon so far—"600 million and 11 acres." That compares to his having sold just 325 million acres of Mars. 
 
 Planetary properties he has sold range in size from a single acre, on up to nation-sized parcels. The buyers of the biggest parcels, he claims, have included 1,800 corporations, including two leading U.S. hotel chains. "The very biggest property we've sold was 2.66 million acres. We sold that for $45,000. Today, that same parcel could run you $2.66 million." 
 
 Hope has drafted a lunar constitution. As the moon's representative, he says, he has established relations with some 30 earthly nations. He has issued a lunar currency and has made overtures for the moon to join the International Monetary Fund. 
 
 As Hope's website makes clear, he is far from being an unscrupulous salesman. There are things—23 of them, to be precise—he will not sell, for any price. 
 
 These include, on the moon, the Apollo landing sites. 
 
 On Mars, sites not for sale and off limits are addressed under the Frequently Asked Questions portion of Hope's website, which asks: 
 
 "Can I Buy The Face on Mars?" 
 
 The property referred to is a topographical feature photographed by NASA. Early images of the parcel showed what appeared to be a giant rock formation in the shape of a human face, with pyramid-shaped structures nearby it. One faction of space enthusiasts has argued that these features are the work of intelligent life. NASA's position is that the face and the pyramids are illusions cast by shadow. 
 
 Explains Hope's website: 
 
 "Unfortunately, certain places on Mars are not for sale because we firmly believe that they should remain for the good of all Mankind. This includes the famous "Face on Mars," as well as the "Pyramids on Mars." It would be irresponsible of the Lunar Embassy to sell these historic areas of general interest."
– Calling it the biggest loophole in the world doesn't quite capture its reach: Dennis Hope claims that he owns the moon—and our solar system's planets—due to what the Outer Space Treaty doesn't say. Mashable reports the treaty has been the guiding document on space law since 1967, and while it bars any country on Earth from laying claim to a heavenly body, it makes no mention of private companies or individuals doing just that. So Hope formed Lunar Embassy Corp, snatched up the property rights to the moon and more, and has been selling off one-acre lots since. Though Yahoo shines a light on Hope's offerings (your own piece of the moon will cost just $19.99 an acre; Mars will run you slightly more at $22.49), it's far from the first time he's been in the news. He was featured in the documentary Lunarcy!, out last month on Epix, notes the Hollywood Reporter, and he's talked to media before. As National Geographic previously reported, Hope thinks he has solid ground to stand on: He registered his moon claim with the UN in 1980, and got no answer, which he thinks means it's a go. And while there's still plenty of real estate to be had, Hope has sold more than a nominal amount of each: 600 million moon acres (about 7.5% of it) and 325 million Mars acres. He says two former US presidents are landowners as well as 250 "very well known celebrities," as are two US hotel chains. But Hope does draw the line somewhere: The Apollo landing sites are off-limits.