Apollo Site Preservation from GLXP Rovers

I was just reading a topic on the GLXP forum which was talking about preserving the Apollo Landing Sites. It made we wonder what people's reactions would be if a GLXP robot went to the moon and took or moved some of what was left. Imagine what would happen if the very first footprints on the moon were ruined with treadmarks from a rover!!

I was interested in what everyone else thought?

Should there be some sort of international rule not to go and ruin the sites?

I wonder how rules could be setup, perhaps as we have hear with important ancient buildings.

Also if some rule was made, you just know people would be saying it is because the US never went there anyway.

Interesting hey! For one, id be quite upset if the sites were covered in rovers trying to see everything there.

Rob

Protecting the Apollo sites might not be so easy, as other countries may feel that since nobody actually owns these places then they are free game for anyone who wants to explore them.

The aspect should be viewed as something being worth to improve precision and - in particular - to fund struggles to improve precision to a degree that really preserves those footprints etc..

In particukar the contenders for the Google Lunar XPRIZE may prove the capabilities of their rovers by demonstrating that those vehicles are capable of carefully looking where they are and thus avoiding the footptints themselves or again and again letting their constructors decide where to go.

May be a chance for the contenders to demonstrate their skills and thus improve the confidence that none of them will hurt those witnesses of earlier human presence(s) on the Moon.

What about it?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

I'm not that interested in protecting the site itself. The most important thing for me is the hardware.

I just want the golf balls so I can put them on eBay

More than preserving first footprints, I'd more like the capability to do bunch of another footsteps (preferably myself).

I agree with someone who posted above. Nobody owns the moon.There are a few Apollo landing sites. Reserving all of them would be a waiste of space on the moon and it would be troublesome. Imagine if the landing sites from the constellation program were reserved also? ..then the landing sites from the next program?

If I had to make the decision I would hope that other countries would agree to only preserve the first lunar landing site from Apollo.

I dont see it like that, i think it is a huge place. Saving a few feet of moon won't be a waist.

I just think it would be a shame if someone flew past the moon in 100 years and asked where the first man walked to hear it was under a giant building somewhere.

On this topic:

Preserving Tranquility

Should the sites of lunar landings be protected as part of our cultural inheritance?

On July 21, 1969, after landing in the Moon's Sea of Tranquility, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planted an American flag and spent almost three hours exploring the lunar terrain. The Moon's airless, inert surface should preserve their footprints and equipment for millions of years. But new robotic rovers due to begin visiting the Moon next summer threaten to radically accelerate the site's decay, prompting preservationists to ask how best to protect off-world archaeological sites as the heritage of future generations.....

More at:
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/1 ... uility.php

makes a good read!

On one hand, I think preserving the Apollo 11 site might be a good idea. But what about all those unmanned vehicles that arrived first? The Apollo 12 astronauts actually traveled to one of the Surveyor sites, and dismantled some parts that they brought back to earth.

And we shouldn't forget the USSR's Luna 2, that was actually the first man made craft to reach the lunar surface. That one ought to be preserved too.

Well if you could return bits of it you could make a fortune.

But the sites are just abandoned stumps with a flag for the most part.

Personally I wouldn't let my customers drive within 50m of historic sites.

I think it might be a good idea to visit some of the sites and remove pieces of material for study to see how it has been effected by the lunar conditions after decades of exposure.