Recently, two Democratic congresswomen introduced legislation to create a U.S. National Park- on the moon. Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and Donna Edwards, D-Md., co-sponsored the bill which would establish a new national park on the surface of the moon at the site of the Apollo lunar landings.
The congresswomen are concerned about potential damage to the historic areas, “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.”
Edwards submitted the “Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act,” through the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Edwards is the ranking Democrat on the Committee and Johnson is the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Space.
The leaders of the House Western Caucus responded with a list of top ten reasons “why this is a silly piece of legislation:
10. Keeping our current, earth-based, national parks fully funded and open to the public is already a challenge.
9. Maintenance of national parks requires special equipment for adverse weather and rugged terrain, though none so far require a lunar module.
8. The moon’s environment is fragile, and any changes to the moon can last for millions of years. We should evaluate the impact of increased tourism on the moon.
7. International organizations and other nations are asked to fund the national moon park. We’re absolutely certain they will jump at the chance to pay for our flights of fancy.
6. The UN Outer Space Treaty states that the moon and all other celestial bodies are common heritage of mankind, and expressly forbids any nation from claiming the surface of the moon as sovereign territory. We realize we landed there and planted a flag, and we aren’t usually fans of the UN, but we did technically sign that Treaty.
5. NASA’s lunar landing program ended in December 1972, and we currently don’t even have a shuttle program. The only agency less able to manage parks than the Department of the Interior might be NASA.
4. We’ll have to enact new regulations to limit lunar rovers to only approved trails, and with certified guides, like we do here on earth in places like Yellowstone National Park.
3. NASA’s programs sending manned aircrafts into space no longer exist. We’ll have to hitch a ride with the Russians to our new moon park.
2. The purpose of the bill is ostensibly to protect all the artifacts left from our lunar landings. No one has landed on the moon in 40 years, so perhaps we are needing to protect the moon artifacts from Martians?
1. We don’t own the moon! We don’t need a national park on the moon even if we did. The West is facing real challenges that demand our attention. The moon is doing just fine just how it is.”