The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has added the moon to its list of 25 threatened heritage sites, citing risks from upcoming commercial and government-funded lunar missions. Concerns include potential damage to historic artifacts,

Ultimate street food in Hatay, Turkey. We had such an ultimate day of eating in Hatay, trying the delicious Antakya kofte, amongst other tasty dishes, on an epic street food tour in Turkey.

The World Monuments Fund list seeks to raise awareness and funds to help preserve the sites it spotlights. Africa's Swahili Coast, Maine's lighthouses and Buddhist grottoes in China are also in peril.

That organization is the World Monuments Fund, which today announced the 25 sites on its annual World Monuments Watch. The sites were selected from over 200 nominations that underwent two review cycles before selection by an independent panel of experts. The Moon stands apart from the rest as a cultural heritage site that is not on Earth.

The World Monuments Fund has listed the moon among threatened cultural heritages due to increasing lunar activities without adequate preservation measures. This concern arises as the moon faces potential over-tourism and environmental risks,

Montlaur  stated that the moon was included among the 25 sites because of “mounting risks amidst accelerating lunar activities”, which, in the WMF’s view, are “undertaken without adequate preservation protocols”.

The preservation organization’s list, the World Monuments Watch, usually sticks to cultural heritage sites within Earth’s bounds. However, with humanity recently ramping up (uncrewed, for now) visits to the Moon, concerns have grown over what that means for the future of the culturally significant marks we’ve left on its surface.

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It usually includes vulnerable cultural sites on Earth. This year marks the first selection since 2022, featuring Qhapaq Ñan, an ancient pre-Hispanic Andean road network. Additionally, the list includes Antakya in Turkey and the Noto peninsula in Japan, both of which have suffered damage from recent earthquakes.

Be it from war, climate change or tourism, across the world our cultural heritage is in peril. But these threats are no longer limited to this planet.