Buzz
The desire to make money is a constant, and for many, the allure of outer space and space travel is just as strong. It takes a unique individual to combine these two passions and seek to profit from space exploration and research. And indeed, some have done exactly that.
10. The 1997 NASA Mars Lawsuit
When NASA successfully landed the Sojourner and Pathfinder probes on Mars, the mission was hailed as a monumental achievement for humanity. However, not everyone shared the excitement. In 1997, three men from Yemen filed a lawsuit against NASA, accusing the agency of trespassing on what they claimed was their land.
According to these individuals, they had 'inherited the planet' from their distant ancestors who supposedly lived on Mars 3,000 years before NASA's mission. They supported their claim using obscure references from Himyaritic and Sabaean myths and a rather flexible interpretation of ancient texts.
The Yemeni courts deemed the men to be mentally unstable. Despite this, the men insisted on meeting with the US ambassador and demanded that NASA halt all Mars data until an agreement was reached. As the situation gained more attention, Yemeni officials grew frustrated and warned the men that they would be imprisoned if the case wasn't dropped. The men quickly complied.
Even after the case was dismissed, the men did not give up on their Mars scheme. They still insisted they owned the planet, and in 1998, they began 'selling land on Mars' for $2 per square meter ($11 per square foot). They promised to use the profits to restore several ancient cities.
Few people took the venture seriously due to an international treaty declaring that no land outside of Earth can belong to any individual. Nonetheless, some gullible buyers did contribute money, falling for what was clearly a scam.
9. The Tnuva Space Ad Campaign
If advertisers get their way, ads may soon be spread across the cosmos. Though space advertising is seen as the future, it actually began in 1997 with the Israeli dairy company Tnuva. They planned to film their commercial aboard the Russian space station Mir, starring mission commander Vasily Tsibliyev. Tnuva’s goal was to emphasize the superior quality and dependability of their milk.
In the ad, Commander Tsibliyev loses communication with mission control. When contact is restored, ground control asks him what he desires most. Tsibliyev's reply? A glass of milk—specifically, real Israeli milk.
The commercial concludes with a delivery of milk to Mir and a shot of Tsibliyev enjoying the milk in space. The 90-second ad took nine months to plan and cost $450,000. However, for Tnuva, it was worth the expense to claim they filmed the first commercial in outer space.
Interestingly, the commercial wasn't only a significant advertising event. It also strengthened Russian-Israeli relations. The two countries collaborated on the project, helping to ease tensions between them. While not a major achievement in the space program, the Tnuva ad opened the door for future space advertising ventures for companies with enough resources and vision.
8. The Sale of Lunokhod 2
In 1973, the Soviet Union launched the unmanned Luna 21 spacecraft to the Moon. Upon landing, Luna 21 deployed the small Lunakhod 2 rover. The rover initially performed well, driving around the lunar surface with success.
By June of that same year, the Soviet Union declared the project was complete. The exact reason for its conclusion remains unclear, but it's speculated that the rover either lost contact with mission control or could no longer move further.
For many years, Lunakhod 2 remained on the Moon's surface, largely forgotten. That was until December 1993 when the title for Lunakhod 2 and the Luna spacecraft were put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The Lavochkin Company, the designer of the rover and spacecraft, auctioned them off for $68,500.
Although no one had retrieved the rover or the lander from the Moon, the outdated Soviet technology was still up for sale. Video game developer Richard Garriott purchased the lot, acquiring ownership of Lunakhod 2 and Luna 21.
It’s certainly odd that Lavochkin auctioned off a discarded (and currently unreachable) piece of technology, but Garriott's purchase raises intriguing questions about space law. As of now, he is the only private individual to own an object on a celestial body.
International law prevents any government from claiming extraterrestrial land. However, as a private owner, Garriott isn’t bound by those treaties. In interviews, he humorously claimed to have 'claimed the Moon' for Lord British, a character from his video games.
7. Gregory W. Nemitz’s Space Parking Ticket
In 1996, NASA launched the NEAR Shoemaker mission to explore 433 Eros, a small asteroid relatively close to Earth. The robotic probe was designed to orbit Eros and ultimately land on its surface. The orbital phase of the mission was a huge success, delivering valuable data for NASA scientists. By February 2001, the NEAR Shoemaker had completed its orbit and finally touched down on the asteroid’s surface.
One individual stood in the way of NASA's celebrations. Space enthusiast Gregory W. Nemitz claimed ownership of 433 Eros. Eleven months before the landing, Nemitz had officially filed and published his claim with a nonprofit organization.
Shortly after NEAR Shoemaker's landing, NASA received an invoice from Nemitz. He demanded $20 in 'parking fees', calculated at 20 cents per year, to be paid in century-long installments. Naturally, NASA rejected the request, explaining that Nemitz had misunderstood the terms of space treaties.
Whether his project started as a joke or not, Nemitz took it seriously and even filed a lawsuit against NASA for failing to make the payment. The case was brought all the way to the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where the judge dismissed the lawsuit. With no further legal recourse available, Nemitz expressed frustration, possibly because scientists later discovered that 433 Eros contained billions of dollars' worth of platinum.
6. The Uwingu Naming Scam
Who hasn’t dreamed of having a planet named after them? With all the planets in our solar system already assigned names, it seemed like a distant fantasy until we began discovering planets orbiting stars outside our own solar system. These exoplanets have become a major focus in astronomical research, but their names are often lackluster, like Kepler 452b. Enter Uwingu, a startup company that promised to make a difference by holding a contest to name exoplanets.
Initially, Uwingu offered users the opportunity to submit a name for an exoplanet for just $0.99 per submission, though the price has since increased to $9.99. To vote for their favorite names, users paid an additional $0.99 per vote.
During the company’s early fundraising campaign, astronomers raised alarms about Uwingu's practices. The company did not clarify how it would use the funds raised, and more importantly, the naming of celestial bodies is under the jurisdiction of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). According to the IAU, they remain the official body responsible for naming exoplanets, no matter what Uwingu claims.
As the IAU cautioned that Uwingu was essentially running a scam, it seemed the company was doomed. However, the owners devised a new plan: now, for as little as $5, you can purchase the rights to 'own' a crater on a celestial body.
Uwingu asserts that its plan will provide a more detailed map of Mars' surface. Despite the IAU's refusal to recognize these crater names, people continue to pour money into Uwingu's venture.
5. KU Leuven University Billboard
Aiming for more than just space commercials, a group of Belgian researchers at KU Leuven launched an ambitious project to create the first space billboard. These billboards will be displayed on a satellite named 'CubeSat', designed by the student team. CubeSat is a small satellite that can carry various tiny instruments, and each billboard will be a mere 8×8 centimeters (3×3 inches) in size.
Clearly, the billboards will be invisible from Earth, leaving their exact purpose uncertain. However, seven companies, including Microsoft, have already backed the project. The idea that a company can boast of having one of the first space billboards seems to justify the $3,000 cost to place an advertisement. The KU Leuven team plans to equip the CubeSat with small cameras to capture views of the ads from space.
In addition to serving as a space billboard, CubeSat will also be used to study global warming. While this project may seem odd, the team has collaborated with the European Space Agency to launch the satellite into orbit in 2016. Once it reaches orbit, the CubeSat will not only introduce a new era of space advertising but also explore the potential for smaller, faster, and more cost-effective satellites.
4. Pocari Sweat Lunar Dream Capsule
CubeSat isn’t the only space initiative planning to make waves in 2016. The Japanese soft drink brand Pocari Sweat is also gearing up for its own advertising mission to the Moon. Engineers have designed a special can of powdered Pocari Sweat with hopes that astronauts will one day find it and mix the powder with available water. Inside the can, there are also heartfelt messages from Earth’s children.
This lunar time capsule is more intricate than it sounds. The can contains 70 components designed to protect it during transit. However, getting it to the Moon won’t be a major challenge. Pocari Sweat has teamed up with Astrobotic Technology to hitch a ride on their lunar lander, which is slated for launch aboard a SpaceX rocket in early 2016.
If everything proceeds as planned, Pocari Sweat will make history as the first private company to land an object on the Moon, with their soda can time capsule. The company hopes that, in the future, Moon travel will become routine. Should that happen, they will already have an advertising presence on the lunar surface.
3. Dennis Hope
One of the most notable space real estate schemes is Dennis Hope’s Lunar Embassy Commission. After establishing his company in 1995, Hope began selling 1-acre plots on the Moon for about $20 each. He claimed that each plot contained a type of helium valued at $125,000 per ounce at that time. Once lunar travel becomes a common occurrence, owning a plot could make someone very wealthy.
Naturally, this conflicts with international treaties which prohibit claiming the Moon. However, Hope defended his actions by submitting an official request to the United Nations for permission to sell lunar real estate. When the UN didn’t respond, he took their silence as approval and started selling land. To date, Hope claims to have sold at least 2.5 million plots, with some of his buyers including former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush.
This scheme has been operating for nearly three decades. Hope argues that the Moon is free for anyone to claim. When a person purchases a plot, Hope lets them decide its location by closing their eyes and randomly pointing at a lunar map. The spot their finger lands on becomes theirs.
In addition to claiming land on the Moon, Hope has his own 'Moon currency' called the 'Delta,' which he has attempted to get recognized by the International Monetary Fund. A few years ago, he expanded his business to include land sales on Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the Jupiter moon Io.
In 2013, Hope discovered that the Chinese government was planning to build a Moon base that would overlap with his land claims. He filed a complaint with the Chinese authorities but has yet to receive a response.
2. Specsavers Teddy Bear
When Tnuva launched their iconic milk commercial, it opened a door for companies with deep pockets to advertise in space. Among the most prominent was Specsavers, an international optometry brand. In 2011, they used a humorous commercial about an astronaut misplacing his glasses to promote their services. After the commercial's success, Specsavers decided to ramp up their space-themed advertising efforts.
Inspired by the Red Bull space jump and the movie Gravity, Specsavers devised an inventive advertising strategy: sending a pair of their glasses into space. To execute this, the company attached a pair of glasses to a teddy bear and launched it with a set of scientific balloons.
The commercial featured the teddy bear floating away from a fairground, culminating in a stunning shot of the bear at the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. While not technically outer space, it’s pretty close.
The campaign proved to be a huge success, sparking a social media frenzy with the hashtag #TeddyInSpace. At high altitude, the balloons eventually burst. As the teddy bear had not reached outer space, it fell back to Earth, where the ad team retrieved it. The floating teddy bear image became one of the most memorable visuals of 2015.
1. Outer Space Reality Shows
Reality TV has forever changed how people engage with television. As space exploration continues to intrigue the public, various organizations and companies are exploring the idea of reality shows that capitalize on humanity’s interest in space. Among the most prominent are Space Race and the proposed Mars One show.
Mars One is an inherently impractical project that aims to send human settlers to Mars. To fund the astronomical costs, Mars One enlisted a variety of sponsors but also hoped to create its own TV show. Endemol was set to produce the series, which would follow the astronaut candidates through training and their eventual journey to Mars. However, negotiations with Endemol broke down, leading to the cancellation of the show. It now seems that Mars One itself might collapse as well.
A more feasible concept is NBC’s Space Race, a TV show produced by Mark Burnett. The series was intended to follow contestants vying for a spot on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo commercial space shuttle. Burnett had long envisioned a reality show where people competed for the opportunity to go to space. However, NBC is reconsidering its plans for the show following the explosion of SpaceShipTwo in 2014, which tragically killed one pilot and left another severely injured.
This idea is similar to Burnett’s earlier attempt at a series, Destination Mir, from the late 1990s. In this version, contestants would compete for a chance to visit the Mir space station. Unfortunately, the show never came to fruition because Mir burned up upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere in 2001.
