As Donald Trump vows to plant an American flag on the Red Planet, scientists reveal why an interstellar inauguration is off the cards From a promise to buy Greenland to his threat to 'take back' the Panama Canal, Donald Trump seems to have his sights set on expanding US territory across the world.
However, experts say that simply planting a flag on Mars (as mimed here by Mr Musk) isn't enough to claim territory] Likewise, these same laws mean that any contracts to 'buy' plots of land on the moon or Mars are nothing more than shallow scams.
As President Donald Trump considers plans for an American colony on Mars, experts reveal whether anyone can really own the Red Planet.
Trump then added: 'And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.'.
According to the most basic laws governing how nations work in outer space, trying to claim Mars as US territory is illegal.
