FAA allowing companies to start claiming territory on the moon

n a previously undisclosed letter obtained by Reuters from the FAA to Bigelow Aerospace, the agency says it’s aiming to “leverage the FAA’s existing launch licensing authority to encourage private sector investments in space systems by ensuring that commercial activities can be conducted on a non-interference basis.”

Translation: Bigelow could set up one of its proposed inflatable habitats on the moon, and have the expectation that it’s the only company with a stake on that territory, as well as any areas related to it for mining, exploration, and other things. It’s kind of like the pioneers in the wild west getting some protection from claim jumpers, in other words.

As Bigelow puts it to Reuters, the FAA’s letter “doesn’t mean that there’s ownership of the moon. It just means that somebody else isn’t licensed to land on top of you or land on top of where exploration and prospecting activities are going on, which may be quite a distance from the lunar station.”

Beam me up, corporate Scotty!