Richard Garriott
Space tourist Richard Garriott has posted a short note on his Facebook page musing on the issue of lunar property rights. He owns the Soviet-era Lunokhod 2 rover, which was recently located in photographs sent down by an American orbiter.
Garriott has kindly given me permission to reproduce the piece below. He cautions: “Please note that it was a brief note, and meant in a light, but provocative spirit.”
In 1993 I purchased Lunokhod 2 from the Russian government and corporate owners. This is not disputed. That purchase made me the worlds only private owner of an object on a foreign celestial body. Just that, was enough to make this a very interesting acquisition to me!
Last week a Canadian researcher found the Lunokhod in high resolution photos taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Its tracks and the actual rover can be clearly seen. As it is the only privately owned object on the moon, I have received many calls on the subject, asking all kinds of questions about it, such as why did I buy it, and what do I think it means to own something on the moon.
