OUR MISSION
To shift the discourse about the Moon towards
sustainability by creating a framework that enables
people to benchmark lunar activities; ensuring
the sustainable use of the Moon and cislunar space.
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Our framework is made publicly available and we
invite people from all over the world to work with us
to evolve our Lunar Sustainability Goals, and help us
achieve our mission of ensuring
space is used sustainability.
TO THE MOON,
TO STAY
RETURNING TO THE MOON IS HUMANITY’S FIRST STEP BACK INTO DEEP SPACE, AND THAT STEP IS CRITICAL FOR ENSURING THAT FUTURE STEPS FOLLOW THE CORRECT PATH.
Several space actors, including space agencies, are proposing a number of activities for the Moon, ranging from building space telescopes and solar power plants to habitats and settlements for humans. In order to enable deep space missions to establish humans as an interplanetary species, a strong political, social, economical, technological, and scientific foundation is required that will withstand the test of time. Therefore, the PURPOSE section of our project establishes “why” we should return to the Moon, the ROADMAP section establishes “what” is required in order to make a Moon base a reality and “when” these phases may occur, and the LUNAR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS establish “how” lunar missions should be conducted in order to create a sustainable human presence on another celestial body.
It is with these goals that we hope to evoke new ways of thinking about lunar settlement for decision makers within the space community and inspire future generations to take care of the Moon as seriously as we care for the Earth.
"THE GREATEST THREAT TO OUR PLANET
IS THE BELIEF THAT SOMEONE ELSE
WILL SAVE IT."
- Robert Swan in 1989, after becoming the first person to walk to both poles.
OUR GOAL
TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY
IS PART OF THE PLANNING AND EVALUATION
OF SPACE EXPLORATION MISSIONS.
THE NEED
FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Many threats to a sustainable human presence on Earth have become exacerbated, such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, biodiversity loss, and inequality. While efforts to preserve Earth are underway, a focus on sustainability, to prevent the mistakes made on Earth from reoccurring on the Moon, is necessary when considering the establishment of human settlements on other celestial bodies.
We have worked with space agencies, companies, and organizations to develop fifteen Lunar Sustainability Goals, with corresponding targets and drivers modeled after the UN SDGs, to provide guidelines for long-term cooperation, environmental preservation, and human protection for currently planned lunar missions. Our Lunar Sustainability Goals serve as a framework for all space actors, and should be used as guidelines that all lunar and cislunar space activity should follow.
