NASA Rover Diagram A chart detailing what not to touch up there. NASA

Dear intrepid lunar explorers: NASA politely asks that, when you travel to the moon, you refrain from messing with the American flag.

Google’s Lunar X Prize promises $20 million to whoever’s first to get a privately funded robot to the moon. But the folks at NASA don’t want any of the stuff they left up there getting messed up in the process, so they've offered a few handy guidelines for what to stay away from while you’re up there. (We’re looking at you, non-autonomous moon robots.)

The 93-page document, originally released in July but reasserted yesterday, reads like a user’s manual for private space shuttles, and contains a spectacular amount of both tech-talk and legalese.

But it boils down to: "Don’t land in our craters and we won’t land in yours; mostly don’t land in ours.”

“Please.” Because there’s a big disclaimer about how explorers aren’t bound by interplanetary moon law to listen to their requests. It’s a big, crater-filled Wild West out there, but the document still covers everything from guidelines for landing to low-altitude fly-bys of Apollo sites.

How necessary is this request? Probably at least a little necessary.

It's safe to predict that more and more non-government entities are going to be making their way to the moon, as private travel becomes easier. And those are unique, historic golf balls up there.

[via Layer 8]

28 Comments

"Please.....!" Be a good nice cosmic neighbor and not pee in my Europa ocean pool and I will not kick your Martin dog, thank you, lol.

..........................................
See life in all its beautiful colors, and
from different perspectives too!

@space
lol

I suppose tourists will visit the site hundreds of years from now. But even visiting the site of an apollo landing will destroy all those historic footprints meant to last a million years. They could errect a circular viewing platform around the site suspended by cables from distant towers not affecting the site itself. Remember it's only 1/6G up there so it's not as difficult to do as it sounds.

I want to visit it sometime in the future. I expect it to be a tourist attraction. Nice little paved pathways, music to set the ambiance, occasional sounds of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin chatting, the annoying kid shaking the hell out of the damn rail you are leaning on, the baby screeching it's head off in the background, and the view of the planet I left to get away from it all.

As this article list all the parts of the NASA Moon Rover, it kind gives me the impression they are worried, that one day NASA will go back to the moon and attempt to use the old rover. They will find it jacked up on blocks and all the tires gone, electronics too.

Worse, will have to label that part of the moon as the ghetto neighborhood...

Sometimes in life, art and media imitates real life or real life can imitate art or media.

Perhaps NASA is worried that Russia has seen the movie Apollo 18, where the USA astronauts steal the Russian Lander to escape from the rock lunar attacking beasts.

Now NASA is worried, someone will steal the rover and turn it into a hot rod and do donuts on the lunar surface!

why should we go physically? imagine feeling like you are there without actually being there like the "Matrix". and "Total Recall". just "jack in" and you are there. of course you would have to collect precise data before hand but with the current tech we have its possible. its safer and you don't have to worry about running out of oxygen. imagine being able to do this straight from your coach. In "Caprica" they use a similar technology to play games and live a different life. maybe that what aliens have mastered....maybe they have cloaked their entire civilization and cut off all radio communications. and live forever in a matrix realm where they never age or have to worry about dying......i wouldnt mind being a guinea pig for such an experiment. Virtual Reality is one thing us humans can master within the next couple years.

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

JediMindset,
I believe your a bit lunar* right now and realy gone gone gone, out there! LOL

*Lunar, looney, its kind of the same word to you, huh.

No worries. In fact I rather envy you. I just have in my cup of soup is reality. In your kool-aid, you see the rainbow sometimes. I prefer to drink the rainbow!;)

@Robot,

i am not looney. i see reality for what it is not for what its made to be. some human being are mentally stuck in the matrix. i love kool aid. especially mixing different kinds together.the colors are magically delicious down the rabbit hole!!!!

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

Jedimindset,

What if we are the people who are controlled by these aliens who mastered this technique? Is that why our universe is so big? to allow for the addition people that will continue to come into this matrix. If we make a matrix while inside the matrix will it be a box in a box in a box, or will the box inside the box go back to being just a box?

@Akim91,

yes thats a big possibility. watch the movie, "The Thirteenth Floor". a computer simulation created in the future lets other computer simulation exist within another and another. but one becomes self aware that they are stuck inside a simulation and want to get out.

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

I wonder how many millions of dollars was spent on this document, and for what? We all know that we never went to the moon. It was all done in a studio.

It's kind of hard to respect NASA moon stuff when they don't even respect the private companies trying to restart our countries floundering space program. It's very disappointing, in my opinion, to see these programs chided by those that went to the moon. It was done, in part, in the spirit of exploration and discovery. If our country wants to truely progress in space exploration then NASA, and those that work for NASA, need to embrace the corporate and private sectors.

When I saw this article, I couldn't help but think of cars that are stripped; axels resting on moon rocks, radio gutted, seat cushion gone, and a bit of alien graffiti to top it off.
--------------------------------------------
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.

Why wouldn't they want people to handle or even take their items? Really? What harm, really, would it do? Are they dangerously radioactive? Were they deliberately infected with something that they don't want brought back to earth and implicating them? Do they not want people to get close to the areas of their items because, then, the people would see that there's nothing there? That NASA didn't land on the moon? Or, at least, that everything there was landed there unmanned, and there are no real footprints around them, proving man didn't travel there?

Geawiel...watch the news lately? NASA is is helping private companies get to space and many former NASA employees work for these companies, or are you just trolling? negative cheers

Wildwood & julianpenrod...you two have got to be trolls, only a complete idiot would think we didn't go to the moon, negagtive cheers

JediMindset,
Humans are a creation. Atlantis was an island country of which the Gods lived and created humans from the existing life on Earth and yes from the monkey. But humans flourished in the water and lost its fur and its brain size jumped in ability and creativity. These humans were created in the image of the Gods and for the purpose of the Gods.

Some Gods did much experimenting of life on Earth and corrupted much life on Earth. Gods in the stars and heavens had civil wars and many were thrown down to Earth and removed of their powers. The wrong hybrid animals and hybrid humans that displeased the Gods were destroyed.

Atlantis was destroyed as the Aliens ventured back to the home world. But the humans that were created from Atlantis were spread around the Earth and given guidance by the Gods too.

The evil Gods walk among the humans on Earth and evil Gods from the Stars may return as well. Evil is on the exits still on Earth and among the stars and heavens. There is always a struggle between the good and evil.

The Father and other Gods will return and have another war with the evil to clean the Earth of the evil Gods and evil humans. The Father will do all that is necessary. His will be done.

As you say often, you open your arms to the return of the Annunaki, but be sure in your heart; you are pure and know what you ask. Evil abounds around us and lies often. Do not be fooled. Make strong your moral fortitude, for we will all be judge by our actions and yes by what lays in our hearts too. God is fair. God is good.

Be humble, be small and trust in Gods and praise them and pray for forgiveness.

If God chooses you, your essence can be preserved and you will continue.

The time is coming soon for the return of the....

And, if you believe in nothing, you essence can be like the electron, splattered across the cosmos in random chaotic abyss.

So as we humans travel out into the stars and heavens, it is best we tread lightly and "do onto others as we would have them done onto ourselves".

I understand a viewpoint of NASA and I worry about that also.
Therefore making the document is one of possible options.
I think this is not bad. It is best choice that they can choose now.
What Amstrong did is an important remains so we have to hand them down to posterity.

@kwg06516

I agree with him.
I think that his suggestion is developmental idea.
Just making rule is insufficient means.
To protect theirs completely, they should do something more.
NASA have to provide an institutional strategy.
At the same time, they make a practical protective device.
NASA need to consider about his suggestion.

@drchuck1:

Yes, I do watch the news. While there are people that use to work for NASA that are working for some of these private space industry, there are those that still work for NASA who have shown no support for these private ventures. There are those that used to work for NASA, who are retired, that have the same views. One of which made the news recently as well.

It's also no surprise to see some of the ex NASA employees working for private industry. Especially since NASA has been cutting jobs due to funding problems.

@ROBOT,

you are correct. i shall welcome them with open arms. they are our CREATORS.

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

@JediMindset

Why go to Paris when we can see it on YouTube or in movies?

Posers opt out of ownership.

@Sweepya,

that is correct. the mind can not tell the difference anyway. especially since we got HD and Ultra HD on the way!!!!!

"religion is like a prison for the seekers of wisdom"

-Killah Priest

Wildwood & julianpenrod you are spot on. Humans have never been to the moon. NASA is worried that private companies will discover their dirty little secret. They will most likely end up bribing these companies to not disclose the information, either with funding or patented technology. Actually all of these companies (Space X, Bigelow, Virgin Galactic) are already using patented NASA technology that is over 50 years old. So it stands to reason that they will cover-up the lie as well.

There is no proof that man ever went to the moon. In fact we still can’t go there today. We can put robots up there, but not humans. The solar wind outside the van allen belts is too dangerous and our technology too backwards.

Also pay no mind to the biggest troll of all “Dr” Upchuck.

I think its reasonable for NASA to ask for there stuff to be left alone talk about historic artifacts. All the gear up there the boot prints the spots where the lander's touched down and took off from. I think those areas need protected maybe just plexiglass boxes around the areas but some kind of protection. Those are historic records of extremely momentous events in human history. They need to be preserved as is maybe on one of the first trips the material needed could be sent up. I'm wondering about quarantine the astronauts had to be quarantined before and after the Apollo missions. I can understand before to lessen the chance of getting sick while in space. But why did they do it on return were they afraid they brought something living back with them. I don't look busy because I did it right the first time


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