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NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped here.

Every two years, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) makes a list of endangered landmarks in need of protection from climate change, tourism, or other threats. Until now, the sites have always been on Earth. But one of the newest additions is out of this worldliterally.

The WMF recently named the moon as a place that needs protection. There are nearly 100 cultural landmarks on the lunar surface. They include the site where Apollo 11 became the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon, in 1969, and boot prints left by NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong on that mission. Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.

Those sites could be damaged by space junk, planned missions to the moon, and future space tourism, WMF officials warn. Protecting the moon is tricky, since no single country or government controls it.

WMF officials hope that by raising awareness about the threats, they can persuade countries with an interest in exploring the lunar surface to work together to protect it.

After all, as WMF President Bénédicte de Montlaur told reporters, “the moon doesn’t belong to anybody. It is a symbol of hope and the future.”

—Brooke Ross