Lets say I made a robot with a bunch of tools and landed it on the Moon (Luna). Then using remote control I instructed a robot over video/control channel to extract some resources (metals, oxigen, ...) from Lunar regolith. I figured out a way to separate and store the gases. I've used metals to build a platform for landing.
Question: who owns the supplies and infrastructure if there was no living being involved in immediate proximity.
Any authoritative sources?
EDIT1/PART2: As JBentley has correctly surmised and I did not clearly state above - there are areas of concern with regard to ownership and private property AND automated means of creation of those.
If there is no human presence directly at the site, is the property occupied? Points to consider:
- From Squatters Rights Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc. A squatter's right is a legal allowance to use the property of another in the absence of an attempt by the owner to force eviction. The doctrine of adverse possession discourages disuse of property. According to the doctrine, if property was abandoned, and someone else "squatted" on it for a number of years, the squatter could gain control over the land. ... In the United States, squatting laws vary from state to state and city to city.
- Claim filing/claim jumping. (same as 3?)
- I have a feeling that the Homesteading is not applicable, since no one owns it now.
- What can I do to stop it? I would hate to weponize construction equipment, even though there is plenty of precedents in the Sci Fi lit. One example is how ice miners used Laser drills for space defense in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", by Robert Heinlein. But let's come down to Earth. err... Moon? (:-).
- If I try to defend any of it and Russia comes knocking with their interpretation of property rights, what then??? I do not want to start WW3. Or would it be Solar System War 1? (:-((
I am beginning to understand why no commercial interrest has materialized yet. And I should (hypothetically) probably partner with NASA or US Space Force.
Any authoritative sources?