For All Moonkind, Inc. is a volunteer international nonprofit organization which is working with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and the international community to manage the preservation of history and human heritage in outer space. The organization believes that the lunar landing sites and items from space missions are of great value to the public and is pushing the United Nations to create rules that will protect lunar items and secure heritage sites on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Protection is necessary as many nations and companies are planning on returning to the Moon, and it is not difficult to imagine the damage an autonomous vehicle or an errant astronaut—an explorer, colonist or tourist—could to one of the Moon landing sites, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

History

The organization was founded by Tim and Michelle Hanlon in 2017. The organization aims to work with space agencies around the world to draw up a protection plan which will be submitted to the

UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues ar ...

. The goal is to present the international community with a proposal prepared by a diverse group of

space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts ...

experts, preservation law experts, scientists and engineers which takes into consideration all the necessary aspects of law, policy and science. The effort will be modeled on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage Convention.

Simonetta Di Pippo Simonetta Di Pippo is an Italian astrophysicist and former Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). She holds a Master’s Degree in Astrophysics and Space Physics from University " La Sapienza", and an Honoris Ca ...

, currently the director of the

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory fram ...

, has acknowledged the work of For All Moonkind and confirmed that UNOOSA supports and facilitates international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. In November 2017, the UNOOSA United Arab Emirates High Level Forum 2017 acknowledged the work of For All Moonkind and recommended that the international community should consider proclaiming universal heritage sites in outer space. In January 2018, a draft resolution was considered by the

Scientific and Technical Subcommittee recommended the creations of "a universal space heritage sites programme ... with specific focus on sites of special relevance on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and other celestial bodies." Apollo 11 Buzz Step

For All Moonkind is also working directly private companies to preserve human heritage in outer space. German company PTScientists, which is planning to send a

rover Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...

to revisit the

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, ...

landing site, was the first private company to make a public pledge of support for For All Moonkind. In February 2018, For All Moonkind was named a Top Ten Innovator in Space in 2018 "for galvanizing agencies to preserve Moon artifacts." The honor was repeated in 2019 when the organization was recognized for its innovative "campaign to create and international agreement to preserve human artifacts in space." In May 2018, the organization announced that it is teaming up with TODAQ Financial to map heritage sites on the Moon using

blockchain The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of Record (computer science), records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via Cryptographic hash function, cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of th ...

. In December 2018, the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

granted to For All Moonkind

Observer status Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

, on a provisional basis, for a period of three years, pending on the status of their application for consultative status with the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...

. In spring 2019, For All Moonkind worked closely with the office of

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Michigan, a seat he has hel ...

to develop the One Small Step Act, legislation designed to permanently protect the Apollo landing sites from intentional and unintentional disturbances by codifying existing NASA preservation recommendations. The bipartisan bill, which was cosponsored by Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

was passed unanimously by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on 18 July 2019. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, it was cosponsored by Representatives

Eddie Bernice Johnson Eddie Bernice Johnson (December 3, 1934 – December 31, 2023) was an American politician who represented Texas's in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2023. Johnson was a member of the Democratic Party. Johnson was electe ...

Brian Babin Brian Philip Babin ( ; born March 23, 1948) is an American dentist, politician and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2015 ...

, Kendra Horn,

Frank Lucas (Oklahoma politician) Frank Dean Lucas (born January 6, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2003, having previously represented the 6th district from 1994 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Lucas has chaired the Hou ...

, Lizzie Fletcher and

Brian Fitzpatrick (American politician) Brian Kevin Fitzpatrick (born December 17, 1973) is an American politician, attorney, and former Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI agent who has served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Pennsylvania since 20 ...

. It was passed by the

in December 2020 and became law on 31 December 2021. In October 2020, the United States and seven other countries signed the

Artemis Accords The Artemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral arrangements between the United States government and other world governments that elaborates on the norms expected to be followed in outer space. The Accords are related to the Artem ...

. Section 9 of the Accords specifically includes the agreement to preserve outer space heritage, which the signatories consider to comprise historically significant human or robotic landing sites, artifacts, spacecraft, and other evidence of activity, and to contribute to multinational efforts to develop practices and rules to do so. This is the first time the protection of human heritage in space has ever been referenced in a multilateral agreement. Through May 2025, a total of 55 nations have signed the Accords. In March 2021, the organization revealed the first-of-its-kind digital registry of all the historic landing sites on the Moon. The For All Moonkind Moon Registry is free to all. Astronaut and second-to-last human on the Moon,

Harrison Schmitt Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, former NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico. He is the most recent living person—and only person without a background in military a ...

called the registry a "worthy cause", while fellow astronaut and moonwalker

Charles Duke Charles Moss Duke Jr. (born October 3, 1935) is an American former astronaut, United States Air Force (USAF) officer and test pilot, and young Earth creationist. As Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest p ...

said it is a "spectacular resource". Neil Armstrong biographer

James Hansen James Edward Hansen (born March 29, 1941) is an American climatologist. He is an adjunct professor directing the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions of the The Earth Institute, Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is best ...

calls it "an all-access pass to the history of human activity on the Moon." In March 2023, the organization formed the Institute on Space Law and Ethics a "new nonprofit organization will go beyond advocating for protecting off-world heritage sites and contemplate the ethics around some activities in space that are not fully covered in existing international law." While Space ethics is a discipline that discusses the moral the ethical implications of

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

the Institute on Space Law and Ethics will look to address current issues in space exploration.

Human heritage in outer space

Space heritage has been defined as heritage related to the process of carrying our science in space; heritage related to crewed space flight/exploration; and human cultural heritage that remains off the surface of planet Earth. The field of space archaeology is the research-based study of all the various human-made items in outer space. Human heritage in outer space includes

Tranquility Base Tranquility Base () is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Mo ...

(

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

's lunar landing site) and the robotic and crewed sites that preceded and followed Apollo 11. This also comprises all the

Luna programme The Luna programme (from the Russian word "Moon, Luna" meaning "Moon"), occasionally called ''Lunik'' by western media, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. The programme acc ...

vehicles, including the

Luna 2 ''Luna 2'' (), originally named the Second Soviet Cosmic Rocket and nicknamed Lunik 2 in contemporaneous media, was the sixth of the Soviet Union's Luna programme spacecraft launched to the Moon, E-1 No.7. It was the first spacecraft Moon landi ...

(first object) and

Luna 9 Luna 9 (Луна-9), internal designation Ye-6 No.13, was an uncrewed space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna programme. On 3 February 1966, the Luna 9 spacecraft became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon and return ima ...

(first soft-landing) missions, the

Surveyor program The Surveyor program was a NASA program that, from June 1966 through January 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of Soft landing (rocketry), soft landings on the Moo ...

and the '' Yutu'' rover. Human heritage in outer space also includes satellites like

Vanguard 1 Vanguard 1 (Harvard designation: 1958-Beta 2, COSPAR ID: 1958-002B ) is an American satellite that was the fourth artificial Earth-orbiting satellite to be successfully launched, following Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), ...

and Asterix-1 which, though nonoperational, remain in orbit.

Advocacy

In December 2018, the

granted to For All Moonkind

observer status Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

, on a provisional basis, for a period of three years, pending on the status of their application for consultative status with the

. In spring 2019, For All Moonkind worked closely with the office of

was passed unanimously by the

on 18 July 2019. It passed the House in December 2020 and became law on 31 December 2020. Principals in the organization advocate for preservation of historical sites and artifacts on various network and social media channels.

Leadership and advisory councils

For All Moonkind is an entirely volunteer endeavor with a Leadership Board and three Advisory Councils. The team includes space lawyers and policymakers, scientists and technical experts – including space archaeologists – and communications professionals from around the world. Noteworthy members include: * Astronaut Col.

Mike Mullane Richard Michael Mullane (born September 10, 1945; Col, USAF, Ret.) is an engineer and weapon systems officer, a retired USAF officer, and a former NASA astronaut. During his career, he flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-D, STS-27, and ST ...

, USAF, Retired * Astronaut Col. Robert C. Springer, USMC, Retired * American space historian

Robert Pearlman Robert Zane Pearlman (born January 14, 1976) is an American space historian and the founder and editor of collectSPACE, a website devoted to news and information concerning space exploration and space-related artifacts and memorabilia, especia ...

* James R. Hansen, author of '' First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong'', the official biography of

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was al ...

* Space entrepreneur

Rick Tumlinson Rick Tumlinson is the co-founder of several space companies and non-profits including Deep Space Industries, Orbital Outfitters, the New Worlds Institute, and the Space Frontier Foundation. He is an active space entrepreneur and space activist. ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * *
What is the Apollo 11 Landing Site Like Now?
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The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

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Should Neil Armstrong's Bootprints Be on the Moon Forever?
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The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

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The Moon now has Hundreds of Artefacts - Should They be Protected?
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The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...