could some billionaire just wake up one morning and decide that when he dies, he’s going to be buried on the moon?

Question

What are the laws actually guiding issues like this? Who actually owns space bodies? Is outer space actually a no man’s land?

In: 3

Answer 1

You can already get your ashes sent to space right now. Some companies plan to offer lunar ash delivery soon and there is no reason to doubt this to be possible. The costs are not that high to require being a billionaire, but it is also not exactly paid by selling your old car. Also, Eugene Shoemaker (among others known for the comet that hit Jupiter very hard in 1994) was buried on the Moon already in the last century, so there is a precedent.