The moon has been listed as a threatened historic site

Human influence has extended to space

Photo collage of the moon with a giant "please keep off, habitat restoration area" sign stuck into it
The moon's artifacts are at risk from human space travel
(Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images)

The moon is now considered a threatened heritage site, alongside 24 other earthly sites, because the lunar surface holds a significant number of artifacts with the potential to be destroyed amid newer moon missions. In order to protect our celestial satellite in the future, countries will have to work together in governing space flight.

A lunar legacy

The moon has become a target for several countries because of its resource potential. The NASA Artemis mission wants to put man back on the moon and establish a lunar base. There has also been an expanding interest in space tourism. As a result, the moon has seen increased human activity, which could destroy "items such as the camera that captured the televised moon landing; a memorial disk left by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin; and hundreds of other objects," said de Montlaur. In all, more than 90 sites on the moon's surface could be at risk in the new space race, warns the WMF.

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Maintaining the moon

Preserving the moon is not an easy task. "Protections for cultural heritage are typically decided by individual countries, which makes the task of taking care of important international sites like the moon more difficult," said The New York Times. The moon does not belong to any one country. Instead, 53 countries signed the UN Artemis Accords in 2020 to "establish a common vision via a practical set of principles, guidelines, and best practices to enhance the governance of the civil exploration and use of outer space."

Despite the Artemis Accords, the moon still faces "mounting risks amidst accelerating lunar activities," de Montlaur said. On the day the WMF list was released, for example, a SpaceX rocket launched two privately developed robotic lunar landers to the moon. Many of these explorations are "undertaken without adequate preservation protocols," de Montlaur added. "Before we can send our humans back to the moon, we are sending a lot of science and a lot of technology ahead of time to prepare for that," said Nicola Fox, the head of NASA's science mission directorate, to CBS News.

"The inclusion of the Moon on the 2025 Watch advocates for international agreements and protections for lunar heritage sites and invites a broader public conversation on what this new Space Age might mean for the Moon's cultural and natural landscape," said the WMF. Other cultural sites on the WMF list this year include the city of Gaza and Kyiv Teacher's House in Ukraine, both of which have been put at risk by ongoing war.

Devika Rao, The Week US

 Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.