Claim jumpers on the moon? - Denver

Golden Spike Co. is planning to send humans to the moon on private spacecraft, but there are some questions being raised about the project.

DENVER, CO (Catholic Online) - The Golden Spike Co., formed in Boulder, has announced that for $750 million, a passenger may hop a rocket to the moon, which they plan to fly just as soon as one can be built.

Their space tourism endeavor has raised a lot of questions however, and some fear the Moon may become the wild west of the new frontier.

Golden Spike says that space tourists aren't likely to be the primary customers on the flights. Rather, they envision ferrying scientists and other researchers to the moon and back.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 forbids countries from claiming land on the moon, but the treaty does not prohibit private agencies and individuals from doing so.

Still, it remains highly unlikely that anyone should fear claim jumpers on the moon just yet. It is likely to still be decades before humans return to our nearest astronomical neighbor, and even then, the few visitors that arrive will have better things to do than quarrel with their fellow astronauts.

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