Moon placed on World Monument Fund list of heritage sites in need of protection

[Judi Lynn]

By science reporter Jacinta Bowler
ABC Science

6h ago

For the first time, the Moon has been added to the World Monuments Fund global "watch list" of heritage places in need of protection and preservation.

According to the New York-based, non-for-profit organisation, the coming era of space exploration and tourism puts cultural sites like the Apollo landing sites at risk from damage and looting.

"We have about 100 places on the Moon where different nations have put material," Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist at Flinders University and one of the researchers who worked on the nomination for the list, said.

"It might be a crash landing. It might be a human landing site, a robotic probe or rover."

The designation applies not just to those sites, but to the whole Moon, which Dr Gorman said was "really significant".

More:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-01-17/moon-cultural-heritage-world-monument-fund-watch-list/104828450