Knowledge Tree
Moon
Also known as: lunar surface
Facts (53)
Sources
Planetary protection: an international concern and responsibility frontiersin.org May 29, 2023 16 facts
referenceThe 2021 update to the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) planetary protection policy for the Moon was informed by the 2020 report 'Planetary Protection for the Study of Lunar Volatiles' by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Space Studies Board (SSB) Committee on Planetary Protection (CoPP), as well as a joint NASA/LEAG-COSPAR community survey.
quoteJ. Lederberg and D. B. Cowie stated in 1958: “we are in the awkward situation of being able to spoil certain possibilities for scientific investigations for a considerable interval before we can constructively realize them…we urgently need to give some thought to the conservative measures needed to protect future scientific objectives on the Moon and the planets.”
claimThe scientific concern regarding lunar exploration involves both direct contamination of impact sites and indirect contamination caused by the release of volatile compounds that could migrate in the lunar exosphere and become cold-trapped in Permanently Shadowed Regions.
procedurePrior to recent policy updates, all missions landing on the Moon were required to report a full organic inventory to the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).
referenceThe COSPAR Planetary Protection Panel (PPP) published two updates to the Policy for Outer Solar System bodies and the Moon between 2020 and 2021.
claimThe Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) planetary protection policy now includes two subcategories for lunar landers under Category II, specifically Category IIa, which features relaxed requirements for missions to most lunar locations, limiting requested material inventory to organic products potentially released by the propulsion system.
accountRecent updates to the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy were approved in June 2020 (Fisk et al., 2020), and a specific update regarding Moon requirements was published in June 2021 (Fisk et al., 2021) and presented at the 2022 COSPAR General Assembly.
claimThe COSPAR planetary protection policy for the Moon is designed to ensure that future robotic and manned missions can conduct investigations and secure scientific results, rather than prohibiting access to any specific lunar region.
claimRobotic lunar missions conducted during the early 2000s led to the hypothesis that ice deposits located in the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon could serve as a layered record of Solar System history.
claimSpace exploration missions, including those launched by private entities and national or international space agencies, utilize various craft such as orbiters and landers to analyze the external, surface, and subsurface environments of targets like the Moon, Mars, comets, and icy moons of giant planets.
claimThe COSPAR Policy on Planetary Protection represents the current state of scientific knowledge regarding the potential harmful introduction of organic and biological contamination during space exploration activities on the Moon and other celestial bodies.
accountSamples returned to Earth by the Apollo manned missions in the 1960s and 1970s indicated the Moon was too dry for biological activity or prebiotic chemistry, resulting in the Moon being assigned as a Category I target for planetary protection.
claimIn 2008, the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) re-categorized the Moon as a Category II target for planetary protection.
claimIn 2021, the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Panel on Planetary Protection updated its policy for lunar missions to protect scientifically interesting regions while relaxing reporting requirements for the rest of the Moon.
accountThe 1961 Ranger missions to the Moon were the first space missions to implement the CETEX Code-of-Conduct for planetary protection.
procedureCat IIb planetary protection protocols require a full organic inventory (solid and volatiles) for missions to the surface of the Moon that access Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) and lunar poles, specifically at latitudes southwards of 79°S and northwards of 86°N.
Planetary Protection in the New Space Era: Science and Governance academia.edu 6 facts
referenceThe 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies establishes international legal frameworks for lunar and celestial exploration.
referenceThe Moon Agreement, formally known as the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, was established in 1979.
accountAn Israeli lunar lander crashed on the moon in 2019, resulting in the accidental release of tardigrades on the lunar surface.
referenceC. D. Johnson, D. Porras, M. H. Christopher, and S. O'Sullivan authored 'The curious case of the transgressing tardigrades' in 2019, which discusses the incident involving tardigrades on the Moon.
referenceThe 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, serves as a foundational international agreement for space law.
claimLoren Grush reported in 2019 that high-speed lunar dust poses a potential risk to the future of human missions to the Moon.
Read "Review and Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy ... nap.nationalacademies.org 5 facts
claimThe Moon and most asteroids are considered low priority for studies of life or prebiotic chemistry, resulting in minimal planetary protection requirements for government or private missions beyond the preparation, review, and approval of brief documentation.
claimNASA defines "back contamination" as the control of contamination of the Earth and the Moon by extraterrestrial material collected and returned by robotic missions.
claimNew governmental entrants are seeking to join the community of space-faring nations by conducting robotic and potentially human missions to the Moon and Mars.
referencePlanetary protection policy encompasses missions to and from all types of solar system bodies, including the Moon, planets, small bodies like comets and asteroids, and the satellites of other planets.
claimPrivate-sector entities are seeking to provide commercial transportation to the Moon and Mars and leverage past scientific findings for commercial benefits, such as lunar missions and asteroid mining.
Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Catholic Faith: A Brief History of ... catholicscientists.org 4 facts
claimOrigen suggested a second interpretation of Pope St. Clement of Rome's "worlds" was that Clement considered the sun, moon, and planets to be individual "worlds" within the universe.
claimCommon Greek cosmology placed Earth at the center of the universe, with the sun, moon, and stars revolving around it.
claimFollowers of the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras believed that the moon is an inhabited world, though they did not consider it a separate cosmos.
claimAristotle speculated about the existence of inhabitants on the moon, despite this idea contradicting his own cosmological model which defined the lunar region as part of the unchanging portion of the cosmos.
Astrobioethics | International Journal of Astrobiology | Cambridge Core cambridge.org Apr 10, 2017 4 facts
perspectiveThe Moon and its natural resources are considered the patrimony of all mankind, a principle that can be extrapolated to Mars and potential future inhabitants of Mars.
claimCOSPAR Category V includes an 'unrestricted return to Earth' subcategory for celestial bodies scientifically confirmed to lack native life forms, such as the Moon.
claimCOSPAR Category V missions involve sample returns to Earth and require Planetary Protection Policy measures to protect Earth and the Moon from contamination.
referenceThe United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was formed in December 1958 and developed documents regarding the protection of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial objects, which consolidated five single-volume treaties on outer space.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIFTH KIND -- A Ridiculous ... disappointmentmedia.com Apr 7, 2020 3 facts
claimSteven Greer has claimed that United States nuclear bombs were exploded on the moon.
claimThe author claims Steven Greer makes unsupported claims, specifically citing the assertion that US nuclear bombs were exploded on the moon.
claimAn anonymous critic asserts that Steven Greer makes outrageous and unsupported claims, specifically citing the allegation that United States nuclear bombs were exploded on the moon.
Publications by Charles Cockell - School of Physics and Astronomy ph.ed.ac.uk 3 facts
referenceCharles Cockell co-authored a 2008 study titled 'Control of lunar and martian dust - Experimental insights from artificial and natural cyanobacterial and algal crusts in the desert of Inner Mongolia, China', published in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
referenceCharles Cockell published 'Field geology on the Moon: Some lessons learned from the exploration of the Haughton impact structure, Devon Island, Canadian High Arctic' in Planetary and Space Science in 2010.
referenceCharles Cockell and colleagues published 'Supporting Mars exploration: BIOMEX in Low Earth Orbit and further astrobiological studies on the Moon using Raman and PanCam technology' in Planetary and Space Science in 2012, detailing astrobiological research methods for Mars and Moon exploration.
Steven M. Greer - Wikiquote en.wikiquote.org 3 facts
accountSteven Greer claims that covert projects have misinterpreted extraterrestrial actions as hostile, citing an incident where an extraterrestrial vehicle intercepted and destroyed a nuclear weapon that humans attempted to detonate on the moon.
claimSteven Greer claims that covert projects have misinterpreted extraterrestrial actions, citing an incident where an extraterrestrial vehicle intercepted and destroyed a nuclear weapon that the United States attempted to detonate on the moon to demonstrate power to the USSR. Greer argues this was an act of protection for the moon and space, rather than hostility.
claimSteven M. Greer claims that covert projects have misinterpreted extraterrestrial actions, citing an instance where an extraterrestrial vehicle intercepted and destroyed a nuclear weapon that humans attempted to detonate on the moon to demonstrate American power to the USSR. Greer argues that while some interpret this as extraterrestrial hostility, it was actually an attempt to protect the moon and the sanctity of space as a peaceful environment free from weapons of mass destruction.
(PDF) Reconsidering the Theological and Ethical Implications of ... academia.edu 2 facts
referenceThe United Nations 'Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies' was established in January 1967.
referenceThe United Nations Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, was established in January 1967.
Extraterrestrial life - Inters.org inters.org 2 facts
claimResearch projects for the 21st century aim to utilize interferometric radio-telescopes in orbit around the Earth or on the far side of the Moon to increase resolution and sensitivity for detecting intelligent extraterrestrial signals.
perspectivePope Zachary disapproved of the idea that there were inhabitants at the poles, on the moon, or on the sun.
Redefining Planetary Protection as Environmental Ethics - NASA ADS ui.adsabs.harvard.edu 1 fact
quoteArticle IX of the Outer Space Treaty states: "States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination…".
Rethinking Espionage in the Modern Era cjil.uchicago.edu 1 fact
referenceThe Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, establishes that outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.
Scientists gather to contemplate The Great Silence | Human World earthsky.org Mar 24, 2019 1 fact
accountThe Great Moon Hoax of 1835 was a series of satirical newspaper articles that depicted "bat-men" on the moon, which many readers mistakenly believed to be a factual account.
Life on the Edge: Bioprospecting Extremophiles for Astrobiology link.springer.com May 19, 2023 1 fact
claimImprovements in the design of planetary simulation chambers have enabled experiments related to Mars, the Moon, and small bodies like asteroids and comets, which support mineral analysis, astrobiology, instrument calibration, materials testing, and planetary exploration.
UFOs and the U.S. government: The push towards greater ... - WBUR wbur.org Nov 14, 2023 1 fact
claimHuman knowledge regarding the bottom of the oceans is less extensive than knowledge regarding the surface of the moon.