The Moon's Going To Get Crowded - We Should Protect Our Heritage On It While We Still Can
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In 1959, the Luna 2 probe from the Soviet Union became the very first human-made object to reach our closest celestial neighbor. In the decades since, we have been leaving footprints - both literally and figuratively - all over the Moon. Today, there are over 100 metric tons of human-made material resting on the Moon’s surface - everything from advanced cameras and sensors to literal human waste. But that’s nothing compared to what’s to come. NASA predicts the next decade will see over 100 new l
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The Moon's Going To Get Crowded - We Should Protect Our Heritage On It While We Still Can By Andy Tomaswick - March 19, 2026 02:15 PM UTC | Space Policy In 1959, the Luna 2 probe from the Soviet Union became the very first human-made object to reach our closest celestial neighbor. In the decades since, we have been leaving footprints - both literally and figuratively - all over the Moon. Today, there are over 100 metric tons of human-made material resting on the Moon’s surface - everything from advanced cameras and sensors to literal human waste. But that’s nothing compared to what’s to come. NASA predicts the next decade will see over 100 new lunar missions, equaling or exceeding all the missions previously flown. Which brings up a pressing question about all the stuff that’s already there - how do we protect that history? A new paper by Teasel Muir-Harmony, the Curator of the Space History Department of the Smithsonian and Todd Mosher, a Scholar in Residence at University of Colorado, Boulder, reports on a Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Summit on Outer Space Heritage that dives into the legal, scientific, and engineering hurdles of preserving these historic sites. On Earth, protecting historical buildings is a relatively straightforward process - at least in developed countries. There are zoning laws and heritage registries - things that maintain the history but frustrate new developers. In space, things are much more complicated. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty dictates that nations retain jurisdiction over the hardware they send into space. It also requires countries to avoid “harmful interference” with other states’ activities. However, as the paper points out, that doesn’t stop a country from visiting an old site to retrieve material, or disrupt a culturally significant lunar landscape. More recently, the Artemis Accords introduced principles specifically intended to preserve historically signif...
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