Ethical considerations in managing the heritage values of lunar sites

Since the impact of the Soviet Luna 2 spacecraft on the Moon in 1959, there have been over 100 places where space programmes have left material on the surface. These include the six Apollo human landing sites as well as numerous probes, orbiters, rovers and other spacecraft. Some US objects are heritage listed under state legislation, but the sites themselves currently have no legal protection. As space agencies and private corporations accelerate plans to return to the Moon and carry out resource extraction activities, the question of managing heritage values has become a topic of international discussion. In this chapter, I consider whose interests are at stake in lunar heritage management and intersections with the rights of nature movement, in particular the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon. The conclusions apply equally to other celestial bodies in the solar system.