World Monuments Fund Spotlights Moon as a Vulnerable Heritage Site – What You Need to Know

The World Monuments Fund has spent years highlighting endangered cultural heritage sites like Machu Picchu in Peru and temples in Cambodia. But this year, they’re looking beyond Earth — all the way to the moon.

Bénédicte de Montlaur, the organization’s president, pointed out the growing need for protection as humans travel more into space. The moon is now included in their 2025 World Monuments Watch list of endangered sites, which also features places like Gaza and eroding coastlines in the U.S. and Kenya. This move highlights concerns about increasing space debris and tourism around the moon that could threaten its historical sites.

Currently, over 90 important lunar sites, including Tranquility Base, where Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, are at risk. The rise of wealthy space travelers and ambitious government missions could lead to damaging our historic lunar landmarks.

However, protecting these cultural treasures is complicated. Countries typically decide on heritage protections, making international coordination challenging. In 2020, the U.S. and 51 other countries signed the Artemis Accords. This agreement encourages preserving space heritage, covering artifacts and landing sites. Despite this, progress on a more binding U.N. agreement for lunar site protection has been slow.

As humanity approaches a new era of space exploration, it’s crucial to think about how we will protect these precious sites on the moon. History doesn’t just belong to the past; it’s something we carry with us, even into the cosmos.

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Moon,Private Spaceflight,Historic Buildings and Sites,World Monuments Fund