Now on the list of at-risk monuments & sites: The moon

For years, the

World Monuments Fund

has sought to draw attention and resources to endangered cultural heritage sites including Machu Picchu in Peru, temples in Cambodia and the old city of Taiz in Yemen. But this year's list of at-risk sites goes much further afield: to the moon.
"The moon seems so far outside of our scope," said Benedicte de Montlaur, the organisation's president and chief executive. "But with humans venturing more and more into space, it is the right time to get ourselves organised."
Concerned that the space race could exacerbate space debris and expand tourism in orbit and beyond, the group named the moon as one of the 25 endangered sites on its 2025 World Monuments Watch. The other sites on the list, endangered by challenges like climate change, tourism, conflict and natural disasters, include Gaza, a damaged historical building in Kyiv, and eroding coastlines in Kenya and the US.
With a growing number of wealthy people going to space and more govts pursuing human spaceflight, the group warns that more than 90 important sites on the moon could be harmed. In particular, researchers are worried about Tranquillity Base, the

Apollo 11 landing site

where astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the moon's surface.

"The moon doesn't belong to anybody," de Montlaur said. "It is a symbol of hope and the future." For almost 30 years, the World Monuments Fund has received nominations for its watch list from heritage experts around the world. The list is an educational and promotional tool serving the nonprofit's other efforts to preserve cultural heritage.
A division of the International Committee on Monuments and Sites devoted to aerospace heritage nominated the moon for the watch list. Gai Jorayev, president of the division, said members wanted to see sustainable management due to the "sheer number of human artifacts on its surface." Beyond lunar orbiters and rangers scattered across the moon's surface that express scientific achievements, there are artifacts of human culture. Apollo 11 astronauts left a golden olive branch to symbolise peace, while a SpaceX rocket lifted a lander that carried 125 miniature sculptures by the artist Jeff Koons to the moon's surface last year. nyt