Moon selected as historical preservation site to protect lunar heritage
SCIENCE: Earth’s Moon has been selected as a historic preservation site in an effort to protect humanity’s lunar heritage. The World Monuments Fund today announced 25 new sites on its 2025 World Monuments Watch. These sites represent 29 countries on five continents… and now the Moon. The lunar surface is home to many artifacts recovered from the exploration of the Moon by robots and humans, such as the Apollo 11 lunar landing site, home to the first off-Earth footprints put by humans in 1969.
Listed are cultural heritage sites that face major challenges, such as the famous city of Antakya, the Swahili Coast of Turkiye, Africa, the Chapel of the Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter of Paris, France, the Buddhist caves of Maijishan and Yungang in China, and the historic lighthouses of Maine in the United States.
The 2025 open call resulted in more than 200 nominations, which underwent extensive internal and external review before final selection by an independent panel of international heritage experts. The inclusion of the Moon in the 2025 Watch is a move that advocates for international agreements and protections for lunar heritage sites.
