Lawmakers Propose National Park on Moon To Protect Landing Sites of Apollo Missions

It was some 43 years back in 1969 during the Cold War that the last manned lunar mission by NASA took place, a period when both U.S. and Russia were also battling out in space. Since then the space agency has dismissed the idea of any mission to moon.

It looks like something new is going to crop up on the moon soon as two Democratic lawmakers from Maryland and Texas have proposed a bill to establish a national park on the moon. The two democratic lawmakers are members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards and Texas Rep. Bernice Johnson propose to build the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park in order to protect the American landing sites of Apollo mission.

According to their proposal, the National Historical Park that will be built on the surface of the moon will preserve all sites of missions, from Apollo 11 - 17, that landed on the lunar surface between 1969-1972. This does not include Apollo 13 as it was terminated. Apart from this, the historical park will also protect the artifacts of the 12 astronomers who were a part of the lunar mission. The treaty bans the claim of national sovereignty and lunar territory.

The bill states that, "As commercial enterprises and foreign nations acquire the ability to land on the Moon, it is necessary to protect the Apollo lunar landing sites for posterity; and establishing the Historical Park under this Act will expand and enhance the protection and preservation of the Apollo lunar landing sites and provide for greater recognition and public under-standing of this singular achievement in American history."

The Daily News reports that there is a possibility this bill may duplicate as well as conflict with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was signed by the U.S. and Soviet Union. The treaty states that all space objects are solely the property of the nation that launched it.

Once the proposed bill gets a nod, the construction of the national park will kickstart within a year and would be monitored by the Department of the Interior and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The legislation permits the government to receive donations for this project from companies and foreign countries in order to manage the site, offer visitor services and administrative services.