Is It Possible to Become a Citizen of Outer Space?
In 2016, Russian-Azerbaijani scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli created the Space Kingdom of Asgardia, the world’s first virtual space nation -- “home” to about 140,000 people from more than 200 countries who have successfully applied for citizenship. Ashurbeyli wants Asgardia to be a peaceful society that gives its citizens, regardless of their Earth-based nationality, a voice in how Asgardia is governed. Anyone over 18 years old with an email address can become a citizen of Asgardia by signing up on the space nation's website. So far, Asgardia's only physical territory consists of a satellite in low Earth orbit containing data about Asgardia's citizens, but Ashurbeyli hopes that is just the beginning for his virtual nation.
The new frontier of Asgardia:
Ashurbeyli hopes to convince the United Nations to recognize Asgardia as a sovereign nation. That would require the approval of a two-thirds majority in the UN Security Council.
Asgardia’s team hopes to eventually create habitable platforms in low Earth orbit, and launch manned test flights within eight years.
Asgardia has its own cryptocurrency: the Solar, which is registered at the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
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