For the first time in history, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) has listed the Moon as a vulnerable heritage site on its 2025 Watch list, citing concerns over the preservation of historic lunar landmarks amid increasing space exploration.
The Moon hosts more than 90 historic sites, including the Tranquility Base, where astronaut Neil Armstrong first set foot in 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission. The site contains Armstrong’s boot print, the television camera that captured the moon landing, a memorial disk, and over 100 artifacts left behind by astronauts.
Bénédicte de Montlaur, WMF’s President and CEO, emphasized the urgency of protecting these sites:
“For the first time, the Moon is included on the Watch to reflect the urgent need to recognize and preserve the artifacts that testify to humanity’s first steps beyond Earth—a defining moment in our shared history.”
The WMF, which highlights at-risk heritage sites every two years, has contributed more than $120 million to preservation projects since launching the Watch list in 1996. This year’s list also includes Gaza’s historic urban fabric—damaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war—and Kyiv’s Teacher’s House, which suffered destruction during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
