It was on 20th July 1969 that history was created when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set his foot on The Moon with ‘Buzz’ Aldrin following. They returned to Earth with samples of rocks which should have been preserved in a museum. But the Apollo 11 Lunar Sample Return Decontamination Bag has been auctioned off. This, in the opinion of a non-profit organization called 'For All Moonkind,' is a wake-up call to the global community to rise as one and take action to discourage such practices.
The bag contained traces of moon dust and was sold for $1.8 million on the 48th anniversary of the first moon landing.
It was sold in spite of efforts by NASA to stop it. Hence the United Nations is being approached to descend on the scene and prevent such acts. Unless checked in time, it could snowball into mass scale exploitation of the Natural Resources on the Moon that could include precious minerals.
Everyone wants a portion of the Moon
Daily Mail UK reports that some countries look to the Moon as a new territory to conquer because they want to lay hands on its assets. They do not have any scientific bent of mind and are not interested in activities related to space exploration but just want to tap its resources for commercial purposes. Therefore, an organization For All Moonkind has come to the forefront to ensure the protection of natural resources of the Moon from being plundered.
China has already announced plans of making ‘preliminary’ preparations to send men to the Moon. A private Florida-based Moon Express is also believed to be developing a fleet of low-cost robotic spacecraft that can be assembled like Legos. The company wants to create a lunar outpost in 2020 to start commercial operations. Their intention is to mine the material and transport it back to Earth to sell.
The result would be potential moon scavengers on the prowl.
NASA also plans to send astronauts to the Moon in 2018 aboard the first mission of the Orion spacecraft but, experts were keen to send an unmanned mission which has been pushed back to 2019.
The organization ‘For All Moonkind’
Michelle Hanlon is the co-founder of the organization ‘For All Moonkind.' She is also a space lawyer and is expected to present her plan at the Starship Congress 2017 in Monterey, California August 7-9.
The initial objective is to impress upon the United Nations to extend the protection of the six Apollo Lunar Landing sites, along with the related artifacts. These are items that belong to the entire world and is proof of human achievement in the field of spaceflight.
With space exploration gaining momentum and with eyes on Mars, proper checks must be introduced to protect the finds on other planets, especially with unmanned flights. It is true that no one owns the Moon as of now but, if people decide to exploit its natural resources for personal gains, it will go against the principles of civilization.