Astronaut artifacts on the lunar surface – such as the Apollo lander and Neil Armstrong’s footprint – are now protected under US law

On December 31, 2020, One small step to protecting human heritage is in space law Became law. As far as laws go, it is very benign. It requires companies working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on lunar missions to agree to abide by unenforceable guidelines aimed at protecting US lunar landing sites. This is a very small group of affected entities. However, it is also the first law enacted by any country to recognize the existence of human heritage in outer space. This is important because it reaffirms our human commitment to protecting our history – as we do on Earth with sites like the Machu Picchu Historic Reserve, which are protected by tools like the World Heritage Convention – while also recognizing the expansion of humankind into space.

I am A lawyer who focuses on space issues Which seeks to ensure the peaceful and sustainable exploration and use of space. I think people can achieve world peace through space. To do this, we must perceive the landing sites on the moon and other celestial bodies as universal human achievements, based on the research and dreams of scientists and engineers over centuries in this world. I think the Small Step Act, enacted in a divisive political environment, makes it clear that space and conservation are really nonpartisan, even unifying, principles.

It’s just decades, maybe just years, before we see a continuous human presence on the moon.

what does that mean? From a legal point of view, no one knows.

Outstanding global value

It can reasonably be said that interfering with an experiment or mining operation on the surface of the Moon would be harmful and cause measurable harm and thus would violate the treaty.

The law also encourages the development of best practices for protecting human heritage in space by developing concepts of due consideration and harmful interference – a development that will also guide how states and companies operate around each other. The recognition and protection of historic sites is just as small a step as it is the first step to developing a peaceful, sustainable and successful lunar governance model.

Boot fingerprints are not protected – yet. There is a long way to go towards an enforceable multilateral / global agreement to manage the protection, preservation or perpetuation of all human heritage in space, but the Small Step Act should give us all hope for the future in space and here on Earth.