Science Friday airs on WSQX Fridays at 2p.m.
by Brandon EchterOn July 20th in 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon. And some day, you might be able to visit that historic site yourself.Recently on Science Friday, we talked with space archaeologist Beth O’Leary and aerospace engineer Ann Darrin about preserving humanity’s history in space.Although space tourism is still a ways off, NASA is already taking steps to preserve significant sites on the moon. In 2011 the agency issued recommendations for protecting the first and last landing sites on the moon, essentially creating a no-landing zone within two kilometers of where Apollos 11 and 17 were located. As O’Leary says, “there has been a buy-in by the different people involved in the Google XPRIZE to say we’re going to avoid those [landing sites].” You can learn more about O’Leary’s quest to preserve the Apollo 11 site at the Lunar Legacy Project.While touring a lunar national park isn’t yet possible, that doesn’t mean you can’t get excited about it! We commissioned artist Julia Kuo to create a poster for an Apollo 11 historic site. And yes, you can print out your own copy for free.
Illustration by Julia Kuo.