For years, the World Fund has sought to and to cultural Machu Picchu in , temples in Cambodia and the old city of Taiz in Yemen.
But this year’s of at- goes much : to the moon.
“The moon so far outside of our ,” said Bénédicte de Montlaur, the ’s and . “But with humans more and more into space, we think it is the right time to get ourselves organized.”
Concerned that the new space could space and tourism in orbit and , the named the moon as one of the 25 endangered on its 2025 World Monuments Watch. The other on the , endangered by challenges change, tourism, conflict and , Gaza, a building in Kyiv, and coastlines in Kenya and the United States.
With a growing number of people going to space and more governments human spaceflight, the warns that more than 90 important on the moon could be . In , some are worried about Tranquillity Base, the Apollo 11 landing where the astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped the moon’s .
Protections for cultural heritage are typically decided by countries, which makes the of taking of important international like the moon more difficult.
Since 2020, the United States and 51 other countries have the Artemis Accords, a nonbinding agreement that the in . The a to space heritage “robotic landing , , and other of on celestial bodies.” A United Nations agreement for the of lunar , but there has been little progress in getting countries to it.
“The moon doesn’t belong to anybody,” de Montlaur said. “It is a of hope and the future.”
For almost 30 years, the World Monuments Fund has received nominations for its watch of from heritage the world. The is an educational and the nonprofit’s other to cultural heritage.
A division of the International Council on Monuments and Sites to aerospace heritage nominated the moon for the nonprofit watch . Gai Jorayev, of that division, said that members wanted to see sustainable management because of the “sheer number of human artifacts on its .”
Beyond the lunar orbiters and rangers across the moon’s that , there are also artifacts of human culture. Apollo 11 astronauts left a to , while a SpaceX rocket lifted a lander that carried 125 miniature by the artist Jeff Koons to the moon’s year.
And while many agree that lunar heritage needs better , some questioned the World Monuments Fund’s that space heritage .
“It is a little to say the moon needs to be protected from tourism and science,” said Michelle Hanlon, a space who helped a nonprofit called For All Moonkind to for an international protecting lunar heritage.
She said that many are headed to far from previous landings, but that might historic without better in . Hanlon that another danger could come from into the lunar . “The moon doesn’t have an atmosphere that will them up,” she said.
At the World Monuments Fund, a future where space tourism is more . “It is not so far away that there is going to be visits to the moon,” said Jonathan Bell, vice of programs. “We see putting the moon on the watch as a wonderful to for the need and of .