The only way to save the moon, is to stay away

One small step for man, one giant leap for conspiracy theorists. That’s what I would say if I ever get the opportunity to set foot on the moon.

Although the Artemis I spaceship, scheduled to be launched yesterday from Florida in the US, will not actually be taking people to walk on the moon, it is the Americans’ first leap to going back to the moon for the first time in 50 years.

Well, that is if you believe that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually did the moonwalk. Not being a conspiracy theorist myself, I do believe the original moon landing was no hoax. But the sad reality is that in decades or centuries to come, mankind’s ventures to the moon will most probably result in the first interstellar landfill site. And it won’t be pretty.

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I watched a documentary years ago about all the waste and garbage littering Mount Everest, the most iconic mountain on earth. It was appalling to see all the garbage left behind by mountaineers in their attempt to reach the highest summit.

Well, I won’t be surprised if the same thing happens on the moon – especially when trips to the most beautiful blob of rock and dust floating around our planet become commercially available.

I can picture it: Coke cans, plastic bottles and bags, empty oxygen tanks, toilet paper and, dare I say it, even cigarette butts and a discarded hubbly will undoubtedly greet the super-wealthy visitors to the moon in decades to come.

As with Mount Everest, tourist-travellers to the moon will probably not spend a moment – or an extra dollar – to clean up after themselves. That job is reserved for the locals.

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The moon, however, does not have an army of Sherpas to act as bellboys, janitors, cleaners, waiters and other labourers performing tasks too demeaning for the rich and richer.

So, my request today, goes out to Nasa. Please don’t go (back) to the moon. Rather just use the same studios for the TV production you did way back in the day – for the sake of continuity. The only way to save the moon, is to stay away