Moon added to list of endangered heritage sites amid space race concerns

The Moon has been placed on the list of endangered heritage sites as the space race threatens to jeopardize Earth’s only natural satellite. The World Monuments Fund (WMF), a non-profit that releases a list of cultural heritage sites at risk, has gone beyond the usual sites like temples, cemeteries and neighborhoods to place the Moon on the list this year. The group has warned that more than 90 important sites on the Moon could be damaged in the coming years.

A division of the International Council on Monuments and Sites dedicated to aerospace heritage nominated the Moon for the WMF’s watch list. The group is concerned that in addition to space debris destroying the lunar surface, sites with significant heritage value linking humanity could also be destroyed.

Tranquility Base, the Apollo 11 landing site where astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon’s surface, is most at risk as wealthy people move into space and more governments run exploration missions to the moon, experts have said. It is possible

Benedict de Montlaur, president of the organization, is quoted as saying, “It seems that the Moon is far beyond our reach. But with humans going more and more into space, we think this is the right time to organize ourselves Is.” new York Times.

“Things like the camera that captured the moon landing on television; A commemorative disc left by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin; And hundreds of other objects symbolize this heritage.”

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Notably, on the same day the group released its 2025 report, a SpaceX rocket lifted off from Florida to launch two private robotic landers on the Moon. Additionally, NASA has long been planning to return humans to the Moon later this decade, through its highly publicized Artemis mission.

The US space agency is also hoping to build a permanent settlement on the lunar surface that would help in possible human missions to Mars.

Apart from the Moon, the majority of the list consists of sites threatened by challenges such as climate change, tourism, natural disasters and conflict, with Ukraine and Gaza making the cut. Despite Moon’s rather worrisome association, the list is merely an educational and promotional tool, serving other efforts by non-profits to preserve cultural heritage.