Location, Location, Location: An Interview with Dennis M. Hope

Dennis M. Hope is the CEO & president of the Galactic Government and the Lunar Embassy, a corporation that sells land on the Moon and Mars in case human systems of private property ever need to be implemented at an interplanetary level. Mats Bigert spoke to him about Cabinet’s recent purchase of some red soil.

Cabinet: How would you characterize the typical buyer of land on Mars?

Dennis M. Hope: Our customer demographics run the gamut. We have doctors, plumbers, policepersons, politicians, scientists, housewives, househusbands, attorneys, journalists, astronauts, ex-presidents, members of royal families, unemployed persons, retired persons, educators at every level of education, and every walk of life you can imagine. We have just over two million property owners in 180 countries on this planet.

Do you have any examples of future Mars dwellers’ development plans for their pieces of land?

Since our primary role is to sell the land, we have not developed any strategies personally for the general public to use. We decided a long time ago to allow everyone to design their own dwellings and to keep out of their decision-making process.

Are there any building restrictions for the land purchased?

Currently, there are very few restrictions. One of them is that you must use the elements available on Mars for the construction of any building or home. We do not want to contaminate the purity of the Martian geography with items from Earth.

How do I know that my property has water on it?

One of the exciting parts of this adventure is going to be finding the water needed for human life. Our understanding is that there is frozen water throughout the Mars terrain. Once development of colonies starts, the Galactic Government will help in the securing and distribution of this precious liquid.

The images of Mars on my retina are from the Mariner 2 mission in 1976. They were shot from the Utopia Planitia, which looks flat and inhabitable. But the area we purchased looks to be on the side of a volcanic mountain. What if it’s too rocky?

There are some schools of thought that believe it is actually better to be on the side of a crater or mountain. The reason is that you can tunnel into the side of the mountain some thirty to fifty meters above the flat terrain below and dig for as much space as is you need. The protection from radiation is immeasurable.

What if my property is already populated? Will I get a refund?

According to the Martian Constitution Bill of Rights, you are required to do the following: If the creature you have made contact with is incapable of expressing in a form of communication understandable by humans that this is their land, then you will have shared ownership with the native creature. If, however, you run into sentient beings that express to you that this is their property, then you must obey that request. It should be noted that at present all of our science is telling us that there are no beings living on Mars at the moment.