This isn’t exactly Newt Gingrich’s moon colony, but Reps. Donna Edwards, D-Md., and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, have introduced legislation to put a national park on the surface of the moon.
The “Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act” was introduced to protect the portion of the moon where the Apollo landings took place, in case of future commercial moon travel. There, lies several U.S. flags, a memorial to fallen astronauts and cosmonauts that was left by the Apollo 15 team, and golf balls from Apollo 14’s Alan Shepard, according to the Baltimore Sun.
“The United States must be proactive in protecting our unique cultural heritage left by the seven Apollo lunar landings,” Edwards said in a floor speech Tuesday. “The Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act will ensure that the scientific data and cultural significance of the Apollo artifacts remains unharmed by future lunar landings.”
The legislation would also require the United States to apply to make the Apollo 11 landing zone a United Nations World Heritage Site.
