Elon Musk Says That Mars Will Be Part of the U.S. His Claim Is a Historic Challenge to the Outer Space Treaty

Seeing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on stage at a political event guarantees some degree of controversy. However, his words have resonated far beyond Earth this time, even reaching Mars.

What did Musk say? On Sunday, Musk spoke at a political rally in Wisconsin. On stage, with a giant American flag behind him and wearing his blue SpaceX jacket, he made a striking declaration:

“I will die in America. I’m not going anywhere. I might go to Mars, but that will be part of America.”

Quite a statement. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty was signed by 115 countries, including the U.S. It stipulates that “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.”

Musk’s statement doesn’t directly violate the treaty, which is binding only on governments. However, some may see it as an unusual affront. In the end, he might be suggesting that the U.S. will claim Mars, which would violate international law.

A contradiction. Notably, SpaceX includes a legal disclaimer in Starlink’s terms of service regarding Mars that contradicts both the treaty and Musk’s recent comments:

“For services provided on Mars, or in transit to Mars via Starship or other spacecraft, the parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities. Accordingly, disputes will be settled through self-governing principles, established in good faith, at the time of Martian settlement.”

What’s the plan? Musk’s long-term vision for SpaceX has always included colonizing Mars. The billionaire aims to establish a self-sustaining settlement on the Red Planet. His ultimate goal is to ensure humanity’s survival as a multi-planetary species in case there’s a catastrophic event on Earth.

SpaceX is developing the giant Starship rocket to support this ambitious project and plans to launch the first unmanned missions late next year. However, only governments and potentially hundreds of thousands of volunteers willing to stay indefinitely would have the means to create a permanently inhabited colony on Mars.

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Political pressure. NASA has prioritized returning to the Moon, but Musk views Earth’s natural satellite as “a distraction.” He’s using his political influence and vast resources to push the agency to accelerate astronaut missions to Mars.

In fact, Musk has already persuaded President Donald Trump to declare Mars America’s “manifest destiny.” Musk’s position could gain even more support if private astronaut Jared Isaacman, his business partner at SpaceX, is nominated to become the NASA administrator.

Against the law. Planting the U.S. flag on Mars is one thing, but claiming independence for a Martian colony is quite another.

Any assertion of ownership on Mars, whether by NASA or SpaceX, would be regarded as a U.S. claim due to ongoing jurisdiction, and these claims would be prohibited under international law. If Musk’s statement is interpreted as a territorial claim, it would contradict established principles of the international treaty.

However, Musk has previously shown he doesn’t mind changing his stance. Until recently, he proposed that Martian colonists would create their own political system through direct democracy, where laws would be voted on by the people without political intermediaries.

Image | Gage Skidmore

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