On wedding anniversary, Rajasthan man gifts wife 3 acres of land on Moon

Jaipur, Dec 29: A man in Rajasthan's Ajmer gifted his wife three acres of land on the Moon on their 8th wedding anniversary.

Dharmendra Anjila bough the land on the Moon for his wife Sapna through the Luna Society International, a firm in New York City. For Anjila the process took a year before he could complete the formalities.

The International Lunar Land Registry from which bought the land is selling different lunar areas under various names such as Lake of Dreams, Lunar Alps, Ocean of Storms etc. Anjila said that people gift things like cards, jewellery, but he wanted to do something different, a report in the Times of India says.

104 countries have signed an International treaty that makes it impossible to lay claim on a piece of land in space. The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies came into effect on October 10 1967. It says that outer space, including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies are the common heritage of mankind and they cannot be owned by any country or individual.

"The Moon is not subject to national appropriation by any claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. Neither the surface nor the subsurface of the Moon, nor any part thereof or natural resources in place, shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organisation, national organisation or non-governmental entity or of any natural person," Article 11 of the treaty says.