The Moon Is Endangered For The First Time Ever
For the first time ever, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has announced that the moon has made the list of most endangered cultural heritage sites for 2025.
The nonprofit releases the list every two years, highlighting cultural heritage sites and locations around the world that are at high risk of disappearing due to threats like war, climate change, natural disasters, tourism, urbanization, or lack of funding and resources.
Usually, the list features historic temples, cemeteries, and neighborhoods. But this year, the moon was included.
It may seem like a strange choice, but when you think about all the human activity that has taken place on or around our planet’s natural satellite, it starts to make a little more sense.
“The moon seems so far outside of our scope,” said Bénédicte de Montlaur, the president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit organization. “But with humans venturing more and more into space, we think it is the right time to get ourselves organized.”
On the same day that the 2025 World Monuments Watch report was released, a SpaceX rocket was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to send two private robotic landers to the moon.
Within the decade, NASA also plans to send humans back to the moon through its Artemis missions. In addition, the space agency wants to build a permanent base on the moon to help with possible missions to Mars. Other countries are working on lunar missions as well.
Furthermore, the moon is threatened by the ever-increasing heap of “space junk” floating around it. The WMF says that disturbances from future tourists on the moon or robotic spacecraft could damage numerous historic sites from the age of space exploration.
One of them is Tranquility Base, the place where astronauts first landed and walked on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. They left behind 106 artifacts.
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“The first moonwalks have captured the imagination of humanity, and they definitely constitute one of the defining historical milestones of the 20th century,” said de Montlaur.
“Today, the moon is home to 90 historic sites, including Tranquility Base, and hundreds of artifacts left by humans…including the Apollo 11 lander, a silicon disc holding goodwill messages from world leaders left behind, several flags, a gold olive branch, and Neil Armstrong’s first footprint on the moon among many others.”
Since the moon does not belong to any one nation or government, protecting it will be a challenge. The hope is that adding the moon to the list will lead to international cooperation.
A total of 52 countries, including the United States, have already signed the Artemis Accords, a set of non-legally binding statements that describe the best ways to explore the moon, Mars, asteroids, and comets that will protect outer space heritage.
The moon is just one of 25 sites on this year’s list. Other places include heritage sites on the Swahili Coast of East Africa, Maine’s 66 historic lighthouses, and Gaza.
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