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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2493 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Are Curiosity's tracks landmarks?

Curiosity's (as well as every other Mars probe's) tracks are subject to erosion by weather so probably not. Everything on the moon? I swear I've seen legislation that already protects them.

Found it

https://www.space.com/13346-nasa-guidelines-protect-apollo-moon-landing-sites.html





goobster  ·  2493 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's just a document, suggesting a path forward, but does not have buy-in from anyone, and the existing space treaties we have establish everything off-world as "community property".

I ask because the Chinese are pretty close to putting a man on the Moon.

I expect the next people on the Moon, despite their nationality, will at least make an attempt to visit one or more of the sites where people have already been, for many reasons: to validate their achievement, to debunk the Moon landing doubters, and just because HOLY SHIT I AM ON THE MOON AND THIS IS MY BOOT IN BUZZ ALDRIN'S FOOTPRINT!!!!

Further, on Mars, I fully expect some scientists are going to be tasked with doing autopsies on failed missions. Photographing impact craters and debris fields. Visiting hardware that crapped out for an unknown reason (Spirit?), etc.

Just approaching these sites will alter their forensic and historical value.

Footprints around the grass at Stonehenge are gone the next day.

Footprints on the Moon and Mars are there for the lifetime of whole civilizations...

kleinbl00  ·  2493 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    It's just a document, suggesting a path forward, but does not have buy-in from anyone, and the existing space treaties we have establish everything off-world as "community property".

This is one of those situations where anything beyond the existing documentation gets silly. I reckon an "international space monuments treaty" will happen about six months after some frat rat out from New Tycho tries to shove Alan Shepard's golf ball up his ass.

Which I think is a long goddamn way off. "Holy shit this is my boot in Buzz Aldrin's footprint" automatically makes your accomplishment subservient to Buzz Aldrin's. Set that aside for a minute though because precision landing in anything short of a Space Shuttle is still a pipe dream.

And the moon is larger than the British Empire ever was. There's a lot of it. And it takes an office building full of high explosives to get there. A Saturn V could get about 50,000 lb to TLI; a Long March 5 can get about 18,000. That's a one-way, which is really bad for international prestige.

I think we're a long way from this being an issue, and by the time we get there, the historical significance of moon tracks will be obvious and the historical significance of mars tracks will be moot.