More than 2.5 million Lunar Embassy deeds have been sold since 1980 at roughly $20 to $30 an acre, even though space lawyers say the certificates carry no legal force.
Dennis Hope built the business on Article II of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, arguing it bars only national claims; most legal experts say private claims fail because states cannot grant title they do not possess.
A standard deed package includes a certificate, lunar map and "Bill of Rights," while Hope says buyers include three former U.S. presidents and celebrities, though those purchases have not been publicly confirmed.
The business has endured because buyers often treat the deeds as novelty gifts or symbolic ownership, not enforceable property, letting a $24.99 purchase function more like a story than real estate.
That distinction may matter more as space mining laws evolve: U.S. and Luxembourg rules recognize ownership of extracted resources, but not of the Moon itself, leaving deed holders with no claim.