The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, also known as the Moon Treaty or Moon Agreement, was created in 1979 to establish a regime for use of the moon. Similar to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it declares that the Moon should be used for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of the entire international community. It also seeks to avoid the Moon becoming a space for international conflict.
With the successful soft landing of India on the moon today, one signatory of - if not party to - the Moon Treaty has reached the celestial body. All other countries that reached the moon so far (and are still in existence) have not done so. How many other countries have signed or ratified the treaty so far? According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, three more states have signed the treaty - France, Guatemala and Romania. Another 17 countries are party to it after Saudi Arabia pulled out earlier this year. The Moon Treaty is therefore generally considered a failed treaty because of it has not been ratified by any country that has or that currently engages in self-launched manned space exploration.
