California moves to protect its history… dumped in space

DOZENS of items of space junk abandoned during man's first trip to the moon could be given legal protection after a vote by state officials in the US.

The California State Historical Resources Commission has voted unanimously to add more than 100 pieces of detritus, scientific apparatus and commemorative tokens – all left in outer space – to its list of protected resources.

Items to be protected include apparently worthless space-sickness bags and urine collection devices, but also Neil Armstrong's first small footprint on the moon's surface.

The commission wanted to raise awareness of both the state's contribution to the Apollo 11 moon mission and potential threats of lunar theft.

State historic preservation officer Milford Wayne Donaldson claimed it was a legitimate move as so many Californian firms worked on the Apollo mission and much of their handiwork remains of major historical value to the state, regardless of where it is now.

"It has a significance that goes way further than whether it came from a quarter million miles away or not," Donaldson said. "They are all parts of the event."

Apollo 11, when Armstrong first walked on the moon, was not a particularly tidy mission. Worried about their landing capsule's weight, the crew left behind tons of rubbish, such as food bags, body waste collectors and electrical equipment.

Artefacts of historical significance left behind include Armstrong's footprint and a US flag. Apollo 11 also left behind a mission patch from Apollo 1, in which three astronauts died in a fire, and a message from world leaders.

California is just one of several states seeking protection for the items in the face of possible lunar missions by other nations, as well as a budding space tourism industry.

In New Mexico, home to early Apollo test sites, a similar measure is expected to be considered by the state's cultural properties review committee in April.

Beth O'Leary, an assistant professor of anthropology at New Mexico State University, and an expert in "lunar archeology," said she was delighted at California's move.

"I don't think anyone argues with it being a major event in the history for humanity, right up there with the invention of fire," O'Leary said. "But people don't tend to think of it as something we need to be protecting."