There's a seed for a sci-fi political thriller here...

[jeriendhal]

Here's the problem. No one is going to argue that the Apollo 11 landing site is probably one of the most historic locations in human history. Which means to preserve those historic footprints the United States is going to have exercise some kind of authority over the site in order to curate and preserve it. Unfortunately, that's projecting national sovereignty into outer space which violates Article II of the Outer Space treaty.

Problem that. Logically it might be best to request a special exception to the treaty, folding it under the UN Heritage Sites program, but logic doesn't make for exciting space battles as idiots use it as an excuse to dump the treaty altogether and start launching killsats...

Comments

[selenite.livejournal.com]

If we're putting a curator on-site to preserve it, have him declare independance and recognize his sovereignty over the site. That lets the USA comply with the treaty and have a memorial.

Would it set a precedent? Oh, yes. I *like* that precedent.

[drhoz.livejournal.com]

I can't see why they wouldn't list it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site? but that destroys the drama ...