As NASA prepares to ramp up its lunar exploration efforts again with the launch of a commercial Peregrine mission this week, the agency has been warned that the moon’s resources are at risk.
A large number of probes will be sent to the surface in the coming years as interested parties vie for control of the resource.
But NASA and other astronomers warn that the long-term effects of exploiting the Moon’s resources could seriously impact important scientific research.
Martin Elvis is from Harvard University and the Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.he said this observer “The problem has become urgent.”
“We need to act now, because the decisions we make today will determine the direction of future actions on the moon.”
This idea was also shared in the publication by University of Arizona astronomer Professor Richard Green. “We are not trying to prevent the construction of a moon base,” he said.
“But there are only a handful of promising sites out there, and some of them are incredibly valuable scientifically. We have to be very careful about where we build mines and bases. there is.”
Green added: “The problem is that it takes a long time to change UN treaties, so to have any hope of having an international agreement in place to protect the unique scientific characteristics of living things. We must act now,” he added. Don’t let them be destroyed by thoughtless exploitation. ”
This comes as a US commercial lander is scheduled to land on the moon on Monday (January 8). The Peregrine lander, developed by Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic, is the first commercial mission to successfully land on the moon and the first U.S.-backed mission in more than 50 years since the end of the Apollo program.
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