NASA is preparing to ramp up lunar exploration efforts again with the launch of the commercial Peregrine mission this week, but the organization has been warned that the moon's resources are at risk.
Many more probes will be sent to the surface over the coming years as interested parties vie for control of resources.
But NASA and other astronomers have warned that the long-term effects of exploiting the moon's resources could have a serious impact on important scientific research.
Martin Elvis of the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University and the Smithsonian. And he said to observer “The issue has become urgent.”
“We need to act now because decisions made today will set the tone for our future behavior on the Moon.”
The idea was also shared with a post by astronomer Professor Richard Green from the University of Arizona. “We are not trying to prevent the construction of lunar bases,” he said.
“However, there are only a few promising sites out there and some of them are incredibly valuable scientifically. We need to be very careful as we build our mines and bases.”
“The problem is that making changes to UN treaties takes a long time, so we have to act now if we are to have any hope of ensuring that there are international agreements in place to protect the unique scientific attributes of the planet,” Green added. The moon and ensure that it is not destroyed through reckless exploitation.
This comes at a time when a private American lander is scheduled to land on the surface of the moon on Monday (January 8). The Peregrine lander, developed by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic, will be the first commercial mission to successfully land on the moon, and the first U.S.-supported mission in more than 50 years since the end of the Apollo project.
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