Managing Activities at the Lunar Poles for Science

TL;DR

This paper discusses balancing scientific, commercial, and environmental interests at lunar poles, proposing restrictions and protections to ensure sustainable exploration and preservation of these unique regions.

Contribution

It introduces a strategic framework for managing lunar polar activities, emphasizing a moratorium on the North Pole and protection measures for scientifically valuable sites.

Findings

Restrict activities to the South Pole for initial exploration

Implement a moratorium on North Pole activities until impacts are understood

Propose designating the North Pole as a Planetary Park

Abstract

The lunar poles are unique environments of both great scientific and, increasingly, commercial interest. Consequently, a tension exists between the twin objectives of (a) Exploring the lunar poles for both scientific and commercial purposes and ultimately supporting a lunar economy; and (b) Minimising the environmental impacts on the lunar polar regions so as to preserve them for future scientific investigations. We suggest that the best compromise between these equally valuable objectives would be to restrict scientific and commercial activities to the lunar South Pole, while placing a moratorium on activities at the North Pole until the full consequences of human activities at the South Pole are fully understood and mitigation protocols established. Depending on the pace at which lunar exploration proceeds, such a moratorium might last for several decades in order to properly assess the effects of exploration and commercial activities in regions surrounding the South Pole. A longer term possibility might be to consider designating the lunar North Polar region as a (possibly temporary) Planetary Park. Similar protected status might also be desirable for other unique lunar environments, and, by extension, other scientifically important localities elsewhere in the Solar System.