Did you know the Moon has already had two owners?
The history of the Moon's first owners has given rise to some of the most striking curiosities of the 20th century. From Jenaro Gajardo Vera's registration in Chile to Dennis Hope's later claim... Had you ever heard their stories?
Jenaro Gajardo Vera and the registration of the Moon as property in Chile
In 1954, in the city of Talca, Chile, lawyer Jenaro Gajardo Vera starred in one of the most curious stories of the 20th century: the registration of the Moon as property under his name in a local notary's office.
The story begins when Jenaro encounters a peculiar requirement for members of a social club he wished to join: to be admitted, they had to prove ownership of an asset. Having no registered properties in his name, upon seeing the moon, that idea came to his mind.
Relying on a legal form of the time that allowed regularizing assets without clear title, he went to a notary and presented a document declaring himself the owner of Earth's natural satellite.
The application followed the natural administrative procedure of the Chilean registry system of the time, with publications in the Official Gazette and formal procedures for its concretization.
It is said that, in his will, Jenaro bequeathed ownership of the Moon to the People of Chile. From this, we can deduce that the process was effectively completed and, after so much effort and such a significant property, we can only hope that, at least, he was accepted into the club that led him to take such a measure, because although many may question the legitimacy of his actions, what no one can doubt is his desire to join it...
Dennis Hope and his claim to the Moon thanks to a legal loophole
In 1980, Dennis Hope starred in another of the 20th century's most curious stories by claiming celestial bodies in the solar system.
The project arose, according to his own account, during a period of personal instability and economic difficulties.
One day, he simply looked up at the Moon and thought it would be a good place to build; many properties could be housed there... Then, he realized that perhaps no one had thought of it before and decided to turn that thought into a profitable business...
His curiosity led him to investigate the matter, and during that process, he eventually found a document that would define the direction of his project: the 1967 Outer Space Treaty promoted by the United Nations, which states in Article II that outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, cannot be subject to national appropriation.
Hope interpreted this as a legal loophole, as the treaty states that the restriction applied to states, not individuals, so he could claim rights over surfaces outside Earth. In an interview, he stated: "They were ownerless lands."
He sent formal letters to the United Nations, the U.S. government, the then Soviet Union, and other international bodies. In them, he communicated his intention to claim the Moon and other solar system bodies, and asked for guidance on the legal limits of that idea.
According to his own statements, he did not receive a formal response to these communications.
Based on this lack of response, he interpreted institutional silence as "tacit acceptance," meaning a lack of opposition to his proposal. From this interpretation, he claimed he could dispose of surfaces outside Earth and gradually began to develop a small-scale commercial system, selling plots in his area.
With the rise of the public internet, his idea evolved into the creation of a commercial model under the name Lunar Embassy, where he sold plots of approximately one acre, assigned by coordinates on maps, along with the issuance of property certificates.
Each plot was located on maps divided into grids, using coordinate references to pinpoint specific positions, so that a specific location could be identified as if it were a terrestrial cartographic representation.
Over time, he expanded the sale of land to other celestial bodies such as Mars, Venus, and Mercury.
In various interviews, Hope claimed to have had clients from diverse backgrounds, from anonymous individuals to actors and Hollywood celebrities like Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Clint Eastwood, George Lucas, and Mick Jagger.
Also, some former U.S. presidents, including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, and even some hotel companies acquired plots, among them Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Marriott Hotels & Resorts.
The idea of owning land on the Moon or another site in the solar system has become a cultural and commercial phenomenon, perhaps due to the expectation of populating space, or perhaps, simply to be able to say one owns it or to tell the anecdote.
