Question: Who gets to decide who owns Mars?

[clearspira]

Just think of all that land, all of those resources, all of that potential money on Mars that could be made once we start to form colonies upon its surface and just think to yourself: how is all of that going to be divided up? Who gets to decide which part of Mars is owned by America and which by China? What if one Mars colony covets the lands of another? Every new frontier on Earth was typically marked by bloodshed and I do not see why this will be any different.

If there is going to be a World War 3, honestly, I don't think it'll be on Earth. It'll be for who gets to put a line on a map that says they own Olympus Mons. Biggest mountain in the Solar System? Whoever owns the rights to put a hotel there will be a billionaire.

Sigh. This is why I wish I owned a time machine. So many great adventures and questions that I will never see the answers too.

[SSJGodGoku]

If there is going to be a World War 3,

Then it wouldn't be World War 3, would it?

[PerrySimm]

The short answer is: International law says no one owns space or can own space, it's like the deep ocean.

The long answer is: Whoever gets there first will make the rules, and that's likely to be Elon Musk.

[Mecha82]

Most likely some corporation will if it turns out that there is some resource on Mars that they can exploit and exploit people working for them to obtain that resource.

[ChrisTheLovableJerk]

Dejah Thoris.

[Darth Wedgius]

Worlds War One?

The U.N. Outer Space treaty says that space is available for the use of all nations, but the People's Republic of China isn't a party to it [Edit: I done goofed, PRC agreed to the treaty] (and PRC frequently doesn't abide by treaties anyway), and countries can withdraw from a treaty.

I can see some motive... For a while, I could see every square meter of Martian colony being acquired at considerable expense. There would be reason for people arriving later and claiming right of entry to that colony to be refused. But I think colonies would be pretty fragile, and I think a war between them would be like two people going at each other with automatic rifles while sitting in life rafts.

With time, with major automated work forces able to build habitats, and able to build more robots from supplies launched from earth, food sources for colonists, etc., then, maybe. In one hundred years? Two hundred? I have no idea. I could see fights over water ice or fissionables.

[TGLS]

Odd, Wikipedia lists China as acceded. Regardless, the economic motivations rely on as of yet to be developed technology, and in the event that space suddenly becomes valuable, we'll probably see something like the Congress of Berlin (EDIT: I meant the Berlin Conference) for space.

[Kendrakirai]

The thing about owning space is that once you get close enough to a large enough mass - like an asteroid, moon, or planet - then it technically ceases to be space. Unless that treaty specifies extraterrestrial locations and objects, then that’s a rather glaring loophole. And if it *does* specify objects not within earths atmosphere, then satellites belong to nobody, too.

And if *that* isn’t the case, anything you out down on Mars is owned by whoever put it there, and by sheer right of occupation that area becomes yours because it’s against various other laws to evict somebody without cause.

Basically, I think what it comes down to is that Mars - or rather large parts of it - will belong to whoever can get there and cover parts of it in something they own, be it a colony or a mine or solar panels or whatever.

And then there’s what happens if you bring part of ‘space’ back.

[Darth Wedgius]

Odd, Wikipedia lists China as acceded. Regardless, the economic motivations rely on as of yet to be developed technology, and in the event that space suddenly becomes valuable, we'll probably see something like the Congress of Berlin (EDIT: I meant the Berlin Conference) for space.

I stand corrected about China, thanks you!

[Yukaphile]

If we ever build a colony on Mars, it'll probably be volunteers from all over the world, um... United States, Canada, Latin American countries, Europe, Russia, Asia... all sorts of places.