IMO, the Moon--at least that small piece of it that is actually developed--belongs to whoever takes the huge physical and financial risks needed to develop it into a profitable venture. While nations cannot lay claim to celestial bodies under current treaties, there is, as far as I know, nothing in any space treaty that prohibits a private entity from owning a chunk of the universe out there.

Yeah, this will piss off the socialists, who firmly believe that no profits should ever be made (unless they get their piece of the action). But hey, maybe the Red Chinese will do the job, and everyone will be happy.

I hope SOMEBODY starts making manned spaceflight pay big time soon. I'm cheering them all on, and hope that every last private space project makes themselves stinking rich opening up the space frontier. I ain't getting any younger here. It's 2002 and I don't see any big spinning space stations or Clavius Bases yet.