Environmentalists say we must protect the Earth because it’s the only one we have, but the same is true for our celestial little brother, the moon.
So it’s fitting, if unexpected, that the World Monuments Fund has officially recognized the Moon as an at-risk cultural heritage site.
Space has been busy lately
Everyone with a billion dollars has been eager to go to space, and that hasn’t been going too smoothly.
- A much-hyped, long-awaited Blue Origin launch was recently delayed multiple times due to weather.
- A SpaceX rocket dramatically exploded last week, showering Turks and Caicos with debris.
It’s good that these issues arose before reaching space, but they’re also an important reminder that rockets aren’t foolproof — especially with space tourism on the horizon.
The WMF doesn’t want future moon tourists crashing into the Apollo 11 landing site, just like it doesn’t want someone knocking over the moai heads on Easter Island.
What’s the plan?
There are existing international agreements about protecting space stuff, but nobody seems to care much.
- The cool-sounding Artemis Accords, for example, are nonbinding and therefore mostly useless.
- The WMF knows this seems like a problem for the future, per The New York Times, but that’s why it’s worth advocacy now, before it becomes an issue.
Also, it’s just smart PR to come out as pro-moon. Who doesn’t love the moon?
It regulates the tides, gives vampires something to wax poetic about, and stands as an ideally permanent reminder of what mankind is capable of.
We walked on it, baby!
