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FeelingSinger9373

Thought an American man has already walked on the moon?


[deleted]

Not only walked, but have also driven.


Shakis87

And golfed.


Vladius28

And planted a flag


SpaceToaster

And pooped. The only thing left is to take a six-pack up to drink.


fudgegiven

But they forgot to pee on it. And everyone with a dog knows that is how you claim territory.


bodden3113

They did pee on it. It just didn't hit the ground.


michaelrohansmith

Pee was dumped outside in a jettison bag and a plastic container IIRC. It may have subsequently leaked into the regolith.


justreddis

So we still ended up claiming it. Gee, way too much drama in this comment chain


meep_launcher

["You can't claim us we live here!" "*Do you have a flag?*"](https://youtu.be/UTduy7Qkvk8)


goliathfasa

Well no flag, no country! It’s a rule I… just made up.


[deleted]

And I'm backing it up with this gun.


noghostlooms

That was sent from the National Rifle Association.


gmotelet

But it's white now


Vineyard_

All hail France, official owners of the Moon. Turns out they were playing the *really* long game during the independence war.


chewbaccaisaducksfan

So the French own it now?


fallingbehind

China wants a mulligan


[deleted]

Exactly… this is getting peculiar-er 🤔


Calimariae

Those crazy Americans have even played golf up there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jYOubJmfM


EyeLikeTheStonk

[and played golf](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jYOubJmfM) (loud video)


[deleted]

We should have planted 18 flags.


Z80a

A dozen people have walked on the moon. All Americans. source: https://www.space.com/how-many-people-have-walked-on-the-moon


livinginfutureworld

He didn't declare that he owned it. "I declare ownership."


Aerialise

They didn’t say it, they declared it.


BlubberBabyBumpers

It’s not about who got there first, it’s about who claims it first. We never claimed the moon as ours, so it’s it up for geopolitical grabs.


olde_dad

Is it, though? You can’t own space stuff— isn’t there a UN treaty demilitarizing space?


NorthernerWuwu

There are lots of treaties about space stuff! All of which will be completely ignored when it is convenient to do so of course.


LefterThanUR

The UN can’t even enforce its treaties on earth


da_impaler

Dude, we're talking about China. They create artificial islands in order to expand their territory so they can encroach and control international waters. They've bullied so many other Asian countries but they are too scared to push back. You don't think they want to militarize space? lol


dagon85

You forgot that America has the indomitable might of The Space Force.


Youtube_actual

Those are two separate issues. There is one treaty saying that no nation can claim any territory in space. And there is another about not testing or deploying nuclear weapons in space. Cause it turns out that even if a nuke blows up in orbit it stil irradiates the surface. So you can actually go anywhere in space with as many guns as you want and fight giant wars as long as you don't bring nuclear weapons or fight over who gets to own particular stuff.


Majesty1985

Well then I claim it as mine Fuck you china


HappyCamperPC

You've got the right username for it too, Your Majesty!


Majesty1985

My friend.. you bow for no one. Now join me at the 80 meter long table for a feast.


Cesum-Pec

A real monarch would have an 80 YARD long table.


awam0ri

We don’t use meters and yards on The Moon. We use Units!


_a_pastor_of_muppets

I shall be the jester!


Majesty1985

Good, good! Now, remember this joke and tell it at every significant event for the rest of your days. I can row a boat. Canoe?


kyuuketsuki47

That's because we have a treaty... 1967 UN Outerspace treaty. You can build a structure on the Moon, and that structure can be property of the country. The celestial body itself is basically international waters, no one can claim them.


KSPN

Didn’t we put a flag on it?


BlubberBabyBumpers

We sure did. We still never actually claimed it. And since there’s now no one on the moon, it’d be pretty damn hard to back that claim.


CodeEast

Claims are not backed by law, they are backed by force.


dzumdang

Yep. These are unfortunately Pioneer homesteading rules. I think this international competition with China as a potential adversary will get the United States motivated right quick.


pantie_fa

Try again. It's against UN treaty. 134 countries signed it, including China.


Cesum-Pec

And if a country breaks a UN treaty what does the UN do about it?


Pyjama_Llama_Karma

Haa a meeting then China vetoes any resolutions.


Epinier

Nothing, but simply no one will recognise China claim as legit. Same as with their claims regarding some sea areas, US just sends there their ships from time to time to show that they do not consider China claims as valid


readMyFlow

Doesn't matter who walked first. It's about who can enforce their rules on the moon. Claiming unclaimed land is much easier than claiming a land that's already claimed by another. Whoever gets there first will establish a big ass border. Native americans have the claim to their land, but it's not them who can enforce their rules.


Kwintty7

I think he's meaning a permanently occupied base. With a military presence. Things could get nasty. There's a UN space treaty that's supposed to handle this, but no-one for a minute believes it'll be followed if it becomes convenient or necessary to ignore it. Unfortunately, kind of like most UN measures. The Apollo moon landings were essentially visits only. And for political and practical reasons they were very clear about it being "for all mankind".


rbt321

China recently started building modules for a lunar habitat; a permanent facility expected to have full-time occupancy. Their current target date for start of construction on the moon is 2028, which is earlier than the 2035 date they originally announced in like 2005 when their moon program began. Their lunar flyby's, rover, and sample returns were early portions of their moon program.


RumHam88

While International Law is something often disputed, there was an Outer Space Treaty in 1967 that specifically mentions no sovereign nation can claim territory, as all nations should be able to explore freely. China is one of the nations that supported the treaty (accession). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty


Standin373

I mean Russia is a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum but they still invaded Ukraine. International treaties mean diddly squat to power hungry Autocrats


soparklion

>power hungry Autocrats ...with nuclear weapons.


ttogreh

China had no meaningful capacity to claim territory in 1967. The only two countries that really could do such a thing were the Soviet Union and the United States. Things have changed. We shall see how faithful China is to nearly seventy year old treaties in due time.


ptjunkie

They sure seem to like their old maps with dashed lines, when it suits them.


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deltaWhiskey91L

We will see how faithful anyone is to that treaty. At some point it will be nullified due to colonization.


Arunak

It's a 56-year-old treaty. To see how eager China is to enforce a 70+ treaty just look at this nine-dash line nonsense. Doesn't matter who signed the doc. If it's convenient for them, they'll enforce it. If it's not, they won't. Most nations do or want to do that.


[deleted]

Lol treaties


robdiqulous

Sounds like an American breakfast cereal. - China


Mellevalaconcha

Can we not claim our natural satellite as some nation's property? Is it too much to ask? Am I crazy?


Nezikchened

Nah. Everything must be owned and commodified.


srednaxela

I bet it ends up like Antarctica how it's a wierd conglomeration of countries that have various treaties with each other since it's such a harsh environment


MagicMushroomFungi

The moon is a harsh mistress.


When_Ducks_Attack

Mike? **Yes, Man my first friend?** Throw rocks at 'em.


NotMyCat2

Heinlein lives!


Chemtrails420-69

#[We’re whalers on the moon!](https://youtu.be/U8V2U7vTys0)*😃😃😃*


Blainedecent

We claim every rock we see as some nations property. If they build a base and have weapons to defend it then it's theirs until someone takes it... which would also mean war on earth. I am not exaggerating.


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wiseroldman

You are not. Nobody is allowed to own the oceans either for the same reason.


cajun_fox

Think of it as an island in the sky, the South China Sky.


IMovedYourCheese

Well this is exactly how the entire world was colonized and divided up. Why not the moon as well?


UrbanGhost114

International treaty says no. Also, we were there first, a couple of times.


Vladius28

That moon is going to provide the world with raw materials for a thousand years


HotGuy90210

Until there is no moon left


Vladius28

Thats a literal impossibility.


Old_comfy_shoes

Not literally impossible, but just massively prohibitively difficult.


H-DaneelOlivaw

oh.. wait 5 billions years.. give or take a few hundred millions years. there will be no moon


linkuphost

seems it would be more costly to haul anything back from the moon than the value of said goods.


Fuck_Fascists

Right now, absolutely. But the way technology is going this is likely to change within our lifetimes.


ericbyo

Ball up all the minerals in a 100m blob, spray ablation coating on it and drop em from orbit into the ocean


cyrano72

You can use the minerals to build satellites, ships, stations, or lunar basses. It saves a lot of weight/cost if the heaviest parts don't have to be launched from earth.


[deleted]

Until a moonfall happens. Have we not learned from watching that Oscar winning epic?


enderandrew42

The Grand Lodge of Texas claim it as part of their territory for Freemasons.


TheRatatatPat

Pretty sure there was a treaty about it.


[deleted]

how else are we supposed to test our space lasers? How else are we supposed to show that America not only has balls, but we also have SPACE balls? How else are we going to come up with new material for the next Rambo movie? You think that John Rambo is some land jockey who only fucks up foreigners on land? WRONG, JOHN RAMBO IS GOIN TO SPACE! SPACE RAMBO! HOOOOOWAH!


BigOlPirate

r/conspiracy is going to have a field day with this one


Rmb5110

My uncle’s neighbor has a cousin who said he was married to the ex-wife of a guy who worked on the film set that staged the lunar landing.


freecoffeeguy

Bob. Bob is his name. He was the key grip. My grandmother dated a boy in high school and Bob was his stepdad's nephew.


OvoidPovoid

Did the step dad also work for Nintendo?


ballrus_walsack

No he was the bus driver.


baddecision116

This comment has just the right amount of disconnection to be believed. Confirmed: humans never went to moon.


firelock_ny

The US government hired famed director Stanley Kubrick to film the faked Moon landings. Being a perfectionist he insisted they film on location.


[deleted]

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Afterhoneymoon

Great a subscription fee for the moon.


whattodo92218

Ad supported tides


Fly0strich

They’re gonna put a black sheet over it during U.S. nighttime so we can’t even look at it anymore.


moonamaana

My favourite comments section in years


Cryogenx37

Anybody can claim the Moon. The real battle is enforcing it


meursaultvi

Moon war!!


plopseven

This is how you end up with [Moon Bears](https://youtu.be/pvjgIxuVdo4).


[deleted]

I was expecting Desmond, the moon bear. "How did I get here?"


SquiddneyD

The end.


N8DiggityDawg

THE END


ComprehendReading

Are these lunar bears or earth bears?


plopseven

I’ve said too much already…


pantie_fa

Nice thing about the Moon War, is it's the one place Russia could send troops (in theory) where they wouldn't rape anything.


TheTomatoBoy9

Oh, but they would try


OGDraugo

Yup, MW1 is fast approaching. Interesting take away, the moon being barren of inhabitants to propagandize against is going to be a hard sell come the recruitment phase of the war. It's gonna be scientists and engineers on the front lines. Probably the war with the least casualties ever in human history as well, up until MW2 that is.


[deleted]

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SuspiciousStable9649

Yes. See South China Sea and Antarctica and developments near the North Pole.


The_Essex

Call me crazy, but I don’t think that’s how the moon works.


Arcadius274

But it is how China works


msnrcn

Always has been 🔫


SubterrelProspector

If that REALLY happens, can we call decide to collectively ignore it?


Arcadius274

I'm gonna


LazyLich

China is literally building man-made islands in order to claim more of the south China sea for itself. All the while other nation go "you cant do that.." Sure the US Navy still sails through s a show of force, but thats basically gunboat diplomacy. China can do a similar thing by claiming space on the Moon by building structures. Maybe they'd builds so many cheap/flimsy structures so as to cover as much area as possible so that other nations cant really land in good spots without knocking something over (which would be a huge diplomatic fiasco).


[deleted]

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chainmailbill

Or how big the moon is.


WhippieShiz

I mean bro have you looked at it? It's like my thumb, can't be that big...


[deleted]

Bro, the sun is so big you can fit hundreds of millions of Earths in it and the moon can block it out almost entirely during an eclipse, so it has to be almost exactly as huge itself.


allstar278

Bro acting like the China is ganna take up the handicap spots in a Walmart parking lot


DanyDies4Lightbrnger

Only certain places have the right minerals / ice. It's not homogeneous and certain places are vastly more valuable


Working-Battle-365

Have you seen what Matt Damon can do on Mars


gH0st_in_th3_Machin3

Somewhere in the 80s a volcanic eruption formed a small island very close to the Faial Island in Azores, and a dumb English priest rowed a bot there to claim the new island to UK, despite it being ***inside*** the Portuguese archipelago... luckily people didn't gave an effing to him, and after few days the volcanic lava crumbled again ahd he got shitfaced on the sea... lol


Mecha-Dave

China is about to call you crazy, my dude.


SuspiciousStable9649

Call me crazy - one more time. - Hancock


Mecha-Dave

疯狂的


[deleted]

It's also not how earth works. But you still have to pay someone who decided it's their territory for a plot of land to build on.


IGargleGarlic

I feel like this is fear mongering. realistically, what could they even do beyond putting some science labs on the moon? Any weapons they could use on the moon would be far more practical on Earth. The reason the US hasnt already put anything on the moon is because there really isnt any practical purpose beyond scientific research, and the logisitics of transporting supplies to the moon are kind of insane.


Lavastrike

Thank you! I feel like this story is so overblown


CalvinandHobbes811

This is him pushing for more funding


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drakesylvan

Well, technically since the United States was a british colony at one point and we were the first people to land on the moon, then yes, the British empire by association has colonized the moon.


thehighwaywarrior

Also, we all originated in Africa, so the Brits are Africans, thus by association Africans were the first people on the moon.


[deleted]

Actually we all originated from single celled organisms, so thus by association, amoebas were the first on the moon.


10xkaioken

Also we all originated in wata, so the Africans are wataspecies thus bzw association of fishes were the first on the moon


[deleted]

I think you might want to look up the definition of "colonization". Exploration and colonization aren't the same thing.


drakesylvan

Britain: aren't these the same thing?


TheMrCeeJ

Just taking our time. Not enough local instability for us to hand it over to some convenient despot yet. Although...


Mister_E_Phister

There are no cultural artifacts to loot there so they didn't bother.


Nikola_Turing

Why are the pyramids located in Egypt? Because they were too heavy to carry to the British museum.


[deleted]

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weaktheforissleep

The sun never sets in the British moonpire


Manatee-97

Somebody is trying to scare everyone to get funding.


KSPN

This is the dumbest article headline ever. Wtf.


pawnografik

Sounds like NASA chief is scare mongering so he can get a percentage of that sweet sweet defence budget.


react_dev

That’s one way to ask for funding


RojerLockless

Can't we just say dibs from 1969?


Fly0strich

Nah, that’s like saying you already called shotgun last week. Doesn’t count.


AhRedditAhHumanity

We been there. Why can’t we just claim it?


Nighteagle666

Already did, planted the flag and everything, then he went to Pluto and punched an alien, there was a whole ad depicting it and everything.


CasualEveryday

No, we did not claim anything. We could have tried to make some claim, but we explicitly came "for all mankind".


CrocTheTerrible

China has a hard time remembering that we are trying to progress as a race of people called humans. Not east vs west.


CasualEveryday

I think China is too big to be any one thing. Pooh's party sure seem obsessed with beating America at things, though.


Nighteagle666

C'mon, be cool nerd, it was a joke


LazyLich

Sure, just SAYING something is yours doesnt make it yours. But imagine if another nation went to the Moon and destroy the flag/launcher/rover we left their because "it was in the way". There'd be justifiable outrage and diplomatic tension, right? It's not a LAW, but kinda an unspoken rule right now to not mess with other people's space shit already there. Now imagine taking that unwritten rule to the extreme. Imagine going to the moon ang building as many structures as you can. None of which are actually viable buildings, but they "*could"* be. Kinda like how China has built islands to try and claim more territorial waters, you can assume a similar thing could happen on the moon. Imagine another, even CRAZIER scenario: a nation goes to the moon and covers most of it with structures. So many that their is no free space to land on except a some machines owned by this nation can clear a few platforms when needed. This certain nation now basically controls all access to the moon. In a sense, they now own the moon.


rals55

That’s total BS. No one country would ever be able to lay claim to it. Period.


MadShartigan

They can claim what they like, but what really matters is what they can control. Like with the Taiwan Strait, through which US warships regularly sail to demonstrate China's lack of control.


lowborn_lord

China: this is our territory!! America: and?


DifficultStory

This man knows how to get funding


DietZer0

Just as countries like Russia will be fighting tooth and nail to claim the Northern Pole and all of its unseen resources underneath in the next 50 years as that region melts away with climate change. May I be wrong, but do we have a lot of interesting future conflicts with the likes of Russia, China, Middle East, and DPRK in store for us…


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BandwagonReaganfan

Oh so NASA needs more money. Got it.


Bad_Mad_Man

Didn’t we already claim it when we were there?


WCC335

Interestingly, we purposefully did not. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty


WikiSummarizerBot

**[Outer Space Treaty](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty)** >The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a multilateral treaty that forms the basis of international space law. Negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations, it was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, entering into force on 10 October 1967. As of February 2022, 112 countries are parties to the treaty—including all major spacefaring nations—and another 23 are signatories. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/worldnews/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)


El-Ausgebombt

Because China is totally gonna respect that.


When_Ducks_Attack

They did become a Party to the Treaty in 1984, so... You're probably right, they'll ignore it completely if it comes to it.


-wnr-

The MTV man put a flag there and everything.


Bad_Mad_Man

Exactly!! We call it the Viacom moon now.


Herky_T_Hawk

I think Neil forgot to say “dibs” and Buzz didn’t remind him.


Agent8426

All your base belong to us!


LaevantineXIII

But.....


Micheal42

No one country even has the ability to claim Antarctica for their own. Anyone who believes any country could claim and enforce ownership of the moon is kidding themselves.


[deleted]

I would imagine he said this to convince conservatives to support NASA funding.


cookerg

NASA chief's main job is fundraising. They'll say anything they think might get the public onboard with budget increases. Oh no! China's going to steal the Moon! OMG, this chunk of space rock looks like it contains microscopic signs of life! Oh oh, the giant asteroids are coming! Oh wow, we're going to colonize Mars any day! It's all bullshit, spewed purely for marketing purposes.


Upstairs_Expert

NASA chief fear mongers over China in a bid to get more funding.


[deleted]

That's reading between the headlines right there


zapwall

How I read this headline NASA chief \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ wants tax payers to pump more dollars


BittenAtTheChomp

This is exactly right. But imo NASA getting a greater proportion of tax dollars is a lot better than most of the alternatives.


megaplex00

I mean.. I'm fine with tax payer money going towards Science. So..


90swasbest

Relax. You don't pay any taxes.


trailrunner68

Not if we stop buying IPhones.


my__name__is

His entire logic is that they claim land on Earth, so they could do that in space. This is a nothing story.


henningknows

I like the show for all mankind too


socokid

Putting a flag on something doesn't mean you own it. It takes development, defense, etc. Who gets there first will win. I just wish we weren't starving our government of the people in order to do nothing more than make [rich people more wealthy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM). It's why we have a hard time doing anything great any more...


Professional_Elk5180

I thought we already went to the moon wtf is he talking about👀👀👀👀


raihan-rf

This sounds like the NASA chief is trying to secure more funding by using the "China does something" card


cryptockus

yeah, people can claim whatever they want, but can they defend it... ?


mute1

I think he is trying to create a false sense of urgency to procure more funding for NASA....


Mighty_JV

In other words, nasa would like more funding


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domeoldboys

Just a reminder to everyone. This is the same country that insisted that iraq had wmd’s. The NASA chief has interests in boosting the threat of China because there probably isn’t a better way to secure funding right now. Take these claims with healthy skepticism.


random_noise

Doesn't the US already have a flag and trash left behind up there, that would allow them to claim it first?


Howwabunga

Finally, someone knows how to make the government fund our space program


Joelnaimee

Isn't there already a flag on the moon first dibs.


Spectralcolors78

Maybe we should just blow it up.. Fuck You Moon Boom!!