Human Legacy: The Moon and the Trash

A discarded rocket stage from Elon Musk’s SpaceX has likely impacted the Moon, marking another addition to the growing debris field orbiting Earth and its celestial neighbor. The object, weighing 3.9 tonnes and measuring 12 meters in length, struck the lunar surface at a speed of 8,700 kilometers per hour. It is believed to have landed in the rugged terrain between the craters Einstein and Bell, near the western edge of the visible moon. Confirmation via probe is expected within hours or days, though experts consider this step largely ceremonial. The Moon, with its lack of atmosphere, wind, and water, serves as a graveyard for human activity. Nothing there decays or disappears. What arrives stays indefinitely. Already present on the lunar surface are landing stages, rovers, scientific instruments, cameras, tools, towels, nail clippers, two golf balls, and 96 bags containing feces, urine, and vomit, discarded by the twelve Apollo astronauts during their missions from 1969 to 1972 to save weight for lunar rock samples. These items remain untouched, collected only in photographs, such as one taken by Neil Armstrong shortly after his historic landing. Beyond the Moon, the space around Earth is equally cluttered. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates over 54,000 pieces of debris larger than ten centimeters, and more than 140 million fragments smaller than one centimeter. There are no internationally binding rules governing space debris, only national laws and recommendations, such as requiring decommissioned satellites to either burn up after 25 or five years or move to a graveyard orbit. At the same time, the Moon is becoming a target for territorial claims. Since April of this year, humans have orbited the Moon again, with American astronauts and Chinese taikonauts planning to establish permanent bases at the South Pole. NASA is allowing private firms to construct these bases and intends to place an atomic reactor there. Plans for a lunar hotel are already underway, with a U.S.-based startup accepting deposits for future stays. Space law is evolving alongside commercial interests. A U.S.-led international agreement refers to “security zones” on the Moon, while a 2015 U.S. law permits companies to claim ownership of extraterrestrial resources. President Biden’s economic report from 2021 makes establishing property rights in space a federal responsibility, aiming to make such assets available for capital investment. The goal is to secure a foothold on the Moon before competitors arrive. As a result, the Moon is developing into a landscape of competing claims, much like Earth. Alongside these assertions of territory lies the waste generated by expanding human presence. Everywhere people go, they leave behind their trash. In response to the incident, SpaceX stated that it adhered to existing regulations regarding the disposal of the rocket stage. This is likely true. In 2023, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proposed five acceptable methods for disposing of retired rocket upper stages, including maneuvering them onto an orbit around the Sun. Burning fuel for such maneuvers would cost valuable payload capacity at launch, thus saving money. Discarding the stage required no expenditure.