Do humans need to consider the environ-mental Impact of building on the moon?

 BACK IN 1967, the international community came together to sign the Outer Space Treaty, which banned countries from claiming celestial territories or placing weapons on them. Nations were allowed to claim samples their astronauts brought home, but space itself was declared "the province of all man-kind." The treaty didn't focus on environmental impacts, but in 1984, a group at Los Alamos National Laboratory noted that the moon, unlike the Earth, has no atmosphere, which means it has no systems like wind, water and erosion to erase scars on the land. As scientists prepare to place powerful new telescopes on celestial bodies, many are working to prevent the spoiling of these sites. The International Astronomical Union, of which I am a member, is considering these issues as part of a working group on astronomy from the moon. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is in the midst of a five-year study whose goals include "the preservation of a safe, secure and sustainable space environment."

Martin Elvis, senior astrophysicist, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian