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Author Topic:   'One Small Step' act to protect Apollo sites
Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-05-2019 05:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
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New legislation calls for protection of Apollo 11 moon landing site

The United States Congress could soon take action to preserve Tranquility Base on the moon.

The "One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act," a bipartisan bill recently introduced into the Senate, requires that all U.S. licensed missions to the lunar surface include an agreement to protect the site where humans first landed on the moon.

"The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and humanity's first off-world footprints are achievements unparalleled in history," reads the bill (S.1694), sponsored by Senator Gary Peters of Michigan and cosponsored by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

Mike Dixon
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posted 06-05-2019 07:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
All manned landing sites should be protected, not just Apollo 11.

Headshot
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posted 06-06-2019 01:29 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Headshot   Click Here to Email Headshot     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
How is this even remotely enforceable? What penalties/consequences are there for violating the provisions of this act.

Would any violating entity be required to restore, at their own expense, Statio Tranquilitatis to its original, post- Apollo 11 landing state? What real protection does this act provide since it only applies to U.S. entities?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 06-06-2019 01:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
To launch to the moon from the United States, companies need a license (Moon Express was the first to receive one). This bill amends that process by having the licensing agency (e.g. FAA) require mission operators to adhere to NASA's 2011 recommendations for preservation and protection of lunar artifacts.

If the licensed U.S. mission operator violates the terms, it will be subject to a significant financial penalty.

With regards to foreign-led missions, the bill calls for new treaties to be negotiated.

oly
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posted 06-06-2019 08:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Headshot:
How is this even remotely enforceable?

Internationally, it is not. Treaties and agreements are more like gentlemen's handshake agreements worth about as much as the character integrity of the people shaking hands.

If big mining companies decided that they wanted to exploit the resources available on the moon, and there were political or financial advantages in doing so, sovereign states would ignore any agreements not to disturb footprints and artifacts.

The most effective way of protecting the lunar landing sites is to establish a scientific and engineering presence on the moon, and install infrastructure to support things like telescopes and observatories on the moon, or bases to practice for future Mars missions.

The recent legitimising reasoning for a return to the moon as being necessary for strategic or defensive reasons is counter-intuitive towards making the moon some kind of national monument (and a strange way to invite international partnerships into a program) and more likely to cause some states who want in on the action to act rashly.

The lunar landing sites could well be destroyed by an impact from space debris, making any effort to legislate the sites as protected mute. The money used to pass an act would be better spent put into the coffers to fund a scientific base on the moon within the vicinity of the area intended to be protected.

The act seems like brouhaha, and an attempt for some people to get their 15 minutes of Apollo 11 anniversary fame.

Mike Dixon
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posted 06-06-2019 09:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mike Dixon   Click Here to Email Mike Dixon     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There are 7 million square miles of surface on the near side of the moon.

Care to explain how totally isolating a few square miles covered on six manned missions could EVER justify anyone in the future going anywhere near them?

Jonnyed
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posted 06-07-2019 09:40 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jonnyed   Click Here to Email Jonnyed     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Historical curiosity. Tourism. Artifact pirates. Et cetera.

In theory, the U.S. licensing process could do as you suggest and prevent authorized "close proximity to Apollo sites" missions by sending them around the 7M square miles but the lure of the Apollo landing sites would be intense, wouldn't it?

And then there would be the risk of non-U.S. licensed trips.

apollo16uvc
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posted 06-14-2019 02:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for apollo16uvc   Click Here to Email apollo16uvc     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I for one would be interested in analysis of the Apollo artifacts, to learn how they aged on the lunar environment. Some of the items are (almost) 50 years old so they could really teach us how different materials react to time in space. Especially the lunar rover.

I have read the NASA document, it states that if a rover has the scientific equipment required for analysis and photography it may approach the artifacts closely.

If artifacts could be taken back to Earth even more extensive tests can be done.

Perhaps things like that will be the final legacy of Apollo.

Also, I think one or two film magazines were left behind by accident. WWII can still be developed today. I wonder if the latent image is still good...

schnappsicle
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posted 07-02-2019 06:49 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for schnappsicle   Click Here to Email schnappsicle     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The film in those magazines was fried long ago. They are both totally useless. Still, I'd love to run them through the developer just to make sure.

Rick Mulheirn
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posted 07-02-2019 07:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Gene Cernan left his Hasselblad on the rover seat with the lens pointing skyward specifically for future study of the effects on optics and such.

Personally, I've always wondered why the LRO images seem to show the rovers as smudgy blobs: zero detail unlike the LM descent stages. Looks like some kind of outgassing perhaps from the wax cooled batteries? Or perhaps covered in dust from the ascent stage ignition? Anybody else care to shed some light or perhaps speculate?

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-02-2019 07:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Cernan thought he left his Hasselblad on the rover, but there is evidence he did not. In addition to Schmitt confirming to Mission Control that both cameras were aboard (as recorded in the space-to-ground audio), there are photos that were taken on the way back to Earth that have the Réseau plate number from Cernan's camera.

(Cernan was asked about this before his death and he said his memory was of leaving the camera, but he could not explain the audio and visual record to the contrary.)

Rick Mulheirn
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posted 07-02-2019 07:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Interesting Robert. Thank you for the detail. During an interview for Spaceflight magazine back in 2014, I asked Gene if he had any regrets and if there was anything he would have done differently on Apollo 17? He told me he regretted not taking photos of Tracey's initials in the lunar regolith: instead he was instructed to leave the camera on the rover and wished he had NOT done so from a purely personal and emotional standpoint.

If he still had the camera when he left the surface I would have expected him to have captured Tracey's initials for posterity.

oly
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posted 07-02-2019 08:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rick Mulheirn:
I've always wondered why the LRO images seem to show the rovers as smudgy blobs: zero detail unlike the LM descent stages.
I have not seen LRO images of the Apollo landing sites that have enough resolution to show fine detail on any Apollo hardware left on the lunar surface.

The images that show the path the astronauts walked show the darkened areas of disturbed soil, not the actual footsteps, the shadow of the objects on the surface can be seen to move from differing sun angles, and the decent stages and rovers are only a few pixels in size. Too small and insufficient resolution to make out details.

I remember the discussions about trying to determine the condition and position of the flags place on the moon.

Rick Mulheirn
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posted 07-02-2019 08:37 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Fine detail no. But depending on sun angles the descent stage shape, landing pads and even shadows cast are evident. And pieces of hardware in the ALSEP (much smaller than the rovers) can be seen dotted about the surface.

The rovers on the other hand... nothing but a dark smudge.

oly
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posted 07-02-2019 09:36 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This LRO image of the Apollo 17 site reveals that the disturbed lunar soil and the associated change in albedo defines the astronaut footprints and the lunar rover wheel tracks.

Also, the amount of disturbed soil, identified by the darker regions, being greater around the lunar module decent stage, the lunar rover, and the equipment left at the site, helps to define each item against the lunar surface.

The decent stage, being the largest manmade object within the frame, is only a few pixels in dimension, rendering it more clearly that the rover, which is covered be even fewer pixels.

Your point helps highlight the conundrum between preserving the sites as is, allowing investigation and exploration of the sites for science and engineering, or, as has been joked about here, recovering souvenirs and scraps for collecting or profit. You raise a question that may only be answerable by visiting the site. But any visit would change the site forever, by introducing new tracks, potentially destroying the existing tracks.

While best intentions to preserve the sites would clearly never be enough to enforce the curious or the misguided from wandering around a landing site, history has shown that some people find it difficult to comprehend what is off limits (as exampled in national parks every day), determining how and where to draw the line without having a constant presence and an active police force to enforce adherence to the rules, there will always be somebody that feels they are above the rules, doing it under good intention, or believing that it does not matter.

The lunar landing sites are filled with material that collectors would desperately want to get a hold of and cut into ridiculously small fragments that could be set in resin or framed, just so that the tiny fragment does not blow away or get lost. Imagine the monetary value of the items left on the moon within the collector market. If for no other reason, this fact warrants the sites having some kind of protection.

It is encouraging to see that people are considering the implementation of protections of at least one site, however, the reinforcement of legislation would be almost impossible to police at this time.

The lunar landing sites have different meaning and significance to different people and generations. Recently I showed some images of the Apollo 15. 16, and 17 Landing sites to some young engineering students, as I attempted to describe the engineering of the Lunar Rover stowage and deployment. The greatest number of comments about these images was not about the engineering, it was about the way in which the covers, equipment, and waste, had been discarded about the sites. The consensus was that the sites had been trashed and that NASA should be held responsible for some kind of cleanup (I avoided the subject of radioactive material being left at each site).

While this type of opinion is not found everywhere, it acts as an indicator of how societies attitude towards such things have changed over time, and how today's and future generations associate what the lunar landing sites represent within the list of cultural achievements (these are the people after all that we would like to preserve these sites for). It is going to be difficult to get support for the preservation of these sites without educating and reinforcing their significance.

I hope that a near future mission is dedicated to doing a survey of the sites from a lower altitude and with greater resolution, without interference or disruption, and would have liked to see such a mission included in the Artemis lunar program. However, all the missions selected address science and lunar exploration, and push forward activities that the landing site preservation is designed to protect against.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-11-2019 04:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
An update from For All Moonkind:
After many months of work with the office of Senator Gary Peters (D. Mich.), we are delighted to announce that the One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act has cleared the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee! As Senator Peters said: "This bipartisan legislation will help preserve our human heritage in space for generations to come." Cosponsor Senator Ted Cruz (R. Tex.) agreed, and urged the Senate "to take up and pass this commonsense bill without delay to ensure that, as we ramp up our efforts to return to the Moon, these important parts of history are safeguarded."

This is the first bill introduced in the US that treats the preservation of lunar landing sites rightly as an international concern.

We are going to push hard for this bill to be signed in time for the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 on July 20th.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 07-18-2019 06:42 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From For All Moonkind on Twitter:
The One Small Step Act passed unanimously in the Senate. Now we need to get it's equivalent, HR3766, through the House.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 12-16-2020 05:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Senator Gary Peters release
House Passes Peters Bipartisan Legislation to Protect the Apollo Landing Sites

The U.S. House of Representatives today [Dec. 16, 2020] passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) to permanently protect the Apollo landing sites on the moon. The One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act, which Peters introduced with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), would enact first-of-its-kind legal protections for the Apollo sites by making NASA's preservation recommendations a requirement for future activities on the Moon.

"As a child, I watched the achievements of the Apollo missions with excitement about what is possible when we come together with a common goal," said Senator Peters, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "I was proud to author this bipartisan legislation to preserve for all of humanity the incredible achievements of the Apollo astronauts on the Moon — and also to honor the 400,000 people around the world who made it possible — including the now famous African American "Hidden Figures" who were crucial in calculating trajectories that got astronauts to and from the Moon.

"As we look forward to new expeditions to the moon and placing American boots where they have never gone before on Mars, it is crucial to safeguard the history of American exceptionalism and ingenuity in space, from Apollo 11 to the upcoming Artemis program missions," said Senator Cruz. "As the chairman of the Aviation and Space subcommittee and as a Texan, I am honored to help preserve these historic human heritage sites, while continuing to maintain a dominant presence in low-Earth orbit and beyond."

"As we go forward to the Moon with the Artemis Program, NASA has been clear that we must do so sustainably," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "As part of the Artemis Accords agreements signed with partner nations, NASA has emphasized that protecting historically significant sites is critical, and I applaud the leaders of this legislation for their commitment to ensuring that future lunar science and exploration is done in a safe and transparent manner."

"I am pleased that the House passed the 'One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage In Space Act' today," said Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. "Apollo remains a beacon of inspiration and a symbol of what we, as a nation, can accomplish. I have long advocated for the preservation of the Apollo artifacts, which hold deep cultural, historical, and scientific value for not only the United States, but for all of humanity. It is important that NASA and the United States lead the way in guiding responsible behavior in space, and this legislation to preserve our human heritage in space is, itself, one small step in practicing that leadership."

"The Apollo landing sites mark one of humanity's greatest achievements: the first time we were able to do more than look up at the sky, but actually leave our planet and visit another world," said House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas. "The One Small Step Act maintains these historic sites while encouraging the spirit of exploration that got us to the Moon. I'm proud to sponsor this bill to honor our historical achievements, and I look forward to the time when we can return humans to the Moon and continue the mission of discovery and learning that the Apollo astronauts began."

"As a former astronaut in the Apollo program, it is fitting that one of humanities' greatest collective achievements should be preserved for future generations to learn about and be inspired by," said Dr. A.W. "Tony" England, an astronaut during the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs and Professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. "I am grateful for the efforts of Senators Peters and Cruz as well as Congressmen Johnson, Lucas, Horn, and Babin for their bill that will honor Apollo's invaluable legacy of innovation, collaboration, and determination and preserve it for future generations."

"As one of the original Apollo astronauts, I saw Apollo bring out the best of America and the best of humanity," said Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford, USAF (Ret.), Commander, Apollo 10. "The efforts of Senators Peters and Cruz and Congressmen Johnson, Lucas, Horn, and Babin will help ensure the achievements of the Apollo program serve as a beacon of inspiration — not just for America but for people all over the world for generations to come."

The legislation directs NASA to require future moon activities to follow its preservation recommendations, and honors the over 400,000 scientists, designers, and researchers who contributed to the Apollo programs, including NASA's "Hidden Figures" like Katherine Johnson – an African American mathematician who worked at NASA for 35 years and calculated the trajectory of the Apollo 11 flight to the moon as well the trajectories for the spaceflights of astronauts John Glenn and Alan Shepard.

Peters and the other bill authors worked closely with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine who negotiated similar provision in the Artemis Accords and expressed his support for protecting the historical lunar sites in a 2019 Senate hearing — just before the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing.

The bill reflects an agreement with the House authors of a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives: Committee on Science, Space & Technology Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) as well as Subcommittee on Space Chairwoman Kendra Horn (D-OK) and Ranking Member Brian Babin (R-TX). The final version of the bill now heads back to the Senate, which passed Peters' original bipartisan bill in July 2019, for approval.

Peters has long championed efforts in Congress to support American space exploration. This past September, Peters' bipartisan bill to strengthen the nation's ability to predict and mitigate severe space weather events and mitigate their harmful impacts on Earth was signed into law by the President. In addition, Peters' bipartisan bill to help authorize and set priorities for NASA and the nation's space exploration mission was signed into law in July 2017.

Robert Pearlman
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posted 01-01-2021 09:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
collectSPACE
New law is first to protect Apollo sites from future moon missions

Preserving the historic sites where humans first landed on the moon is now not only a good idea, it is also the law.

The United States has enacted its first legislation that requires American companies and other entities working with NASA on new missions to the moon to avoid disturbing the U.S. hardware that was left there 50 years ago. The "One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act" became law on Thursday (Dec. 31).

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