![]() ![]() ![]() The international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) maintains the Planetary Protection Policy. This belongs to human heritage and memory, but it is now lunar memory too.įriday essay: shadows on the Moon - a tale of ephemeral beauty, humans and hubris The most recent layer of memory records 60 years of human interventions, sitting lightly on the surface. These are like archives storing information about past events. ![]() These unique regions only occur in two other locations in the solar system, Ceres and Mercury. Permanently Shadowed Regions at the lunar South Pole in blue, captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This memory is encoded in geological features like craters and lava fields, and the regions at the lunar poles where shadows two billion years old preserve precious water ice. One reason scientists want to study the Moon is to retrieve the memory of how it formed after separating from Earth billions of years ago. There are many different types of memory, of course – think of memory foam, a space-age spin-off with terrestrial applications. It’s now acceptable to attribute memory to environmental features on Earth, like the oceans. The 17th-century philosopher John Locke argued that memory was a key feature of personhood. It’s in this context that I want to consider two aspects of lunar personhood: memory and agency.Ĭan we support the legal concept of personhood for the Moon with actual features of personhood? Does the Moon remember? But these objects not just made by humans – they also shape human behaviour in their own right. Objects like this are full of meaning and memory. These artefacts were left on the surface on the Moon in 1969. The Apollo 11 Landing Module, with the Solar Wind Experiment and TV camera in the background. There are more than 100 artefacts left at Tranquility Base, including a television camera, experiment packages, and Buzz Aldrin’s space boots. Places like Tranquility Base, where humans first landed on the Moon in 1969, could be considered heritage for the entire species. So I have a keen interest in what mining means for human heritage on the Moon. Previously, I worked with Indigenous communities to mitigate damage to heritage sites caused by mining. Heritage and memoryĪs a space archaeologist, I study artefacts and places associated with space exploration in the 20th and 21st centuries. One proposal is to apply the New Zealand model to the Moon. Environmental features can’t speak for themselves, so trustees are appointed to act on their behalf, as is the case for the Whanganui River in New Zealand. Legal personhood is already extended to many non-human entities: certain rivers, deities in some parts of India, and corporations worldwide. Located in shadowed craters at the poles, water ice could be used to make fuel for lunar industries and to take the next step on to Mars.Īs a thought experiment in how we might regulate lunar exploitation, some have asked whether the Moon should be granted legal personhood, which would give it the right to enter into contracts, own property, and sue other persons.įive ethical questions for how we choose to use the Moon Lunar resources include helium-3 (a possible clean energy source), rare earth elements (used in electronics) and water ice. In April 2020, US president Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on the use of “off-Earth resources” which made clear his government’s stance towards mining on the Moon and other celestial bodies:Īmericans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space. Why we should think about legal personhood The Moon Village Association public forum on August 18 debated whether the Moon should have legal personhood. ![]()
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