Dr Alice Gorman is currently in the UK; best contact is twitter @DrSpacejunk or Skype drspacejunk [UK is 5 hours ahead of US East Coast, and 8.5 hours behind central Australian time]
The evidence of our first foray to the moon is as historically precious as the archaeological records human evolution on Earth - and a global agreement is needed to guarantee its preservation.
That’s the view of pre-eminent Space Archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman of Flinders University in Australia.
Popularly known as Dr Space Junk, Dr Gorman contends the traces of our activity that we’re leaving in space are an archaeological record that can reveal historical insights that can inform and shape our future actions.
“The boot prints left behind 50 years ago when humans set foot on the moon are as culturally significant as the 3.6 million year of Laetoli footprints preserved in volcanic ash in Tanzania.
“Analysing these bootprints 50 years on can tell us about physical adaptations necessitated by walking in low gravity – which will make an interesting comparison with the traces left by future crewed missions”
“As technology continues to develop who knows what other secrets we may be able to unlock from our original visit?”
“One thing is for certain - the next 50 years of human spaceflight won't be anything like the past 50 years. With the privatisation of space travel barrelling along, we need to ensure we cooperate to protect this valuable heritage, so that new “firsts” in space travel don’t obliterate preceding “firsts” from which we still have much to learn.
It’s likely that a lunar tourism industry may develop as the cost of getting to the Moon comes down – and Apollo 11 will be high on the list of places to see. As the site is so fragile, any visitation will have to be highly regulated.
“It’s no longer just about World Heritage – these sites are our cosmic heritage of the future”, says Dr Gorman.
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