The conversation was begun though with reference to remnants of earlier exploration. Six years ago, timed with the Apollo 11 anniversary, NASA published a thorough document, How to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts, offering safeguards for future moon ventures. The agency said it “recognizes the steadily increasing technical capabilities of space-faring commercial entities and nations throughout the world and further recognizes that many are on the verge of landing spacecraft on the surface of the moon.” NASA suggested, for example, a 75-meter (246 feet) artifact boundary around the Apollo 11 descent spot. These recommendations, of course, aren’t legally binding.
In 2013, China became only the third nation to achieve a “soft” lunar landing. The nation’s space program then explored the moon with a rover for more than two years. China also plans to launch another moon probe, Chang’e 5, later this year or in 2018, and return samples to earth. The country plans to land a human on the moon by the mid-2030s.
India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission is designed to accomplish a soft lunar landing in 2018, while Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it has a contract to fly two private citizens around the moon in 2018. Also next year, Google’s Lunar X Prize competition will offer $30 million to teams that can successfully launch, land, and drive a rover on the surface. Lunar X Prize officials have said it’s likely that at least one of the entrants will be able to collect the prize.
Japan and Russia have also contemplated manned missions to the moon, and even America says it may plan a return, though NASA’s budget isn’t likely to support human exploration of Mars anytime soon.
Back in 1969, the Apollo 11 crew planted a U.S. flag and a plaque on the lunar surface that reads, “We came in peace for all mankind.” But it’s not just plaques that NASA left—there’s plenty of equipment and other detritus littering the moon, including food packets, blankets, and cameras. (Even a few golf balls, as Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard famously took some swings in 1971.) The Apollo 15 mission also left a small aluminum memorial to honor U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts killed in the pursuit of space exploration.
For All Moonkind organizers want to prevent the commercialization of off-earth cultural heritage, much the way laws back home prevent the trafficking of important artifacts.
“Imagine what Armstrong’s urine bag would go for,” said Hanlon, who is completing advanced legal study at McGill University’s Institute of Air & Space Law to transition to a practice in space law. “These are the kinds of questions that no one is thinking about. We don’t want robots coming back with artifacts and selling them.”
Of course, if some future lunar explorer or corporate behemoth were to mar Tranquility Base or the now-bleached flags Apollo astronauts planted, any enforcement might be as tricky as a safe moon landing.
The UN’s International Court of Justice might be one venue to resolve disputes, but it’s unclear where litigation over cultural or commercial properties on the moon might actually go for adjudication. Says Hanlon: “A lot of international law is name-and-shame and wag your finger, there’s no doubt about that.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.