World Monuments Fund Considers The Moon As A Threatened Site

Surprisingly, the 2025 World Monuments Fund list of threatened sites released a few days ago cites the Moon as a region facing threats to its cultural heritage. The reason behind the citing of this celestial body is very in-depth and calls for the preservation of historic sites on the celestial body in light of future explorations.

Protecting The Moon’s Cultural Heritage

While some might associate culture with the way of life of a group of people living in a certain area, culture is far more than just that. Culture can also be seen as the manifestation of human intellectual achievements, based on this definition the moon stands as a cultural site.

Evidence of the achievements of humans on the Moon can be seen on the footprints of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, which are still imprinted on the celestial body. Also, over “106 assorted artefacts” used by these men on their visit to the celestial body are still on its surface.

The World Monuments Fund has identified these sites as a cultural site that needs to be protected. But what possibly endangers the rich cultural site that is currently on the Moon?

This nomination of the Moon on this list focuses greatly on the 20 July 1969 Apollo 11 landing site where Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon. Future Moon landings might destroy what is left of the first Moon landing, hence laying waste to that cultural site.

Bénédicte de Montlaur, president and chief executive of WMF, emphasizes the need to establish “international mechanisms to protect this cultural landscape.” This is important as the world steps into “a new era of space exploration,” which is evident by the moves of both private and government agencies in space.

Future Moon Landing Missions Pose A Threat To Our Cultural Heritage

The International Scientific Committee on Aerospace Heritage (ISCoAH) formed in 2023 works to preserve cultural heritage in space. By working closely with this body, the World Monuments Fund aims to create public awareness of possible threats to the Moon’s historic sites. 

To protect this cultural site, global agencies in charge of space missions are to reduce the amount of spacecraft landings around the area which holds the cultural heritage. This will help prevent the possible looting and exploitation of the site where artefacts of the first Moon landing are present.
This year we expect to see missions like Artemis II which will land on the Moon in Q3 2025. Additionally, other moon missions from private firms like SpaceX are also slated for the year.