Editing Tranquility Base (section)

==Status==
[[Image:Apollo 11 plaque closeup on Moon.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Lunar plaque|plaque left at Tranquility Base]] on the Lunar Module Descent Stage which commemorates the first crewed lunar landing (photographed by Neil Armstrong)]]

About [[List of artificial objects on the Moon|100 artificial objects]], as well as footprints left by Armstrong and Aldrin, remain at Tranquility Base, and Armstrong commented that during the launch of ''Eagle'''s ascent stage he could see "[[Kapton]] and other parts on the LM staging scattering all around the area for great distances."<ref>[https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/21day6-tei.html Apollo 11 Flight Journal – Day 6 part 4: Trans-Earth Injection]. History.nasa.gov (15 March 2011). Retrieved on 2012-04-28.</ref> The [[Apollo Lunar Module#Descent stage|descent stage of the Lunar Module]] remains at the original point of landing.  According to Aldrin (with apparent confirmation from later [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] photos<ref name="Space.com Apollo Flag Status Story">{{cite news|last=Moskowitz|first=Clara|publisher=[[Space.com]]|title=Apollo Moon Landing Flags Still Standing, Photos Reveal|url=http://www.space.com/16798-american-flags-moon-apollo-photos.html|access-date=2015-07-21}}</ref>), the [[Lunar Flag Assembly|US flag]] planted at the site during their [[List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999|moonwalk]] was blown over by the [[Ascent Propulsion System|ascent rocket]] exhaust, but remains on the surface of the Moon.  A [[Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment|laser reflector]] was placed at the site to allow precise ongoing measurements of the distance to the Moon from Earth. A solar-powered [[seismometer]] was also left to measure [[moonquake]]s, but this stopped functioning after 21 days. A disc containing the [[Apollo 11 goodwill messages]] was left at the site, and various gear that was no longer needed for the return phase of the mission—including Aldrin's boots—was left behind to lighten the craft for return to [[lunar orbit]].<ref name=smithsonian>{{cite web|title=NASA Looks to Protect Historic Sites on the Moon|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nasa-looks-to-protect-historic-sites-on-the-moon-47186092/|publisher=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine]]|first1=Michael|last1=Milstein|access-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref>

As the site of the first human landing on an extraterrestrial body, Tranquility Base has cultural and historic significance. The U.S. states of [[California]] and [[New Mexico]] have listed it on their [[heritage register]]s, since their laws require only that listed sites have some association with the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/winter10.pdf|title=One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Preservation|last1=Donaldson|first1=Milford Wayne|publisher=California State Parks|date=Winter 2010|volume=3|issue=1|page=2|access-date=June 30, 2019}}</ref> [[Texas]] has not granted similar status to the site, despite the location of Mission Control in [[Houston]], as its [[historic preservation]] laws limit such designations to properties located within the state.<ref name="NYT lunar preservation story">{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Kenneth|title=To Preserve History on the Moon, Visitors Are Asked to Tread Lightly|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/science/space/a-push-for-historic-preservation-on-the-moon.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 10, 2012|access-date=January 11, 2012}}</ref>  The U.S. [[National Park Service]] has declined to grant it [[National Historic Landmark]] status to avoid violating the [[Outer Space Treaty]]'s prohibition on any nation claiming sovereignty over any extraterrestrial body. It has not been proposed as a [[World Heritage Site]] since the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] (UNESCO), which oversees that program, limits nations to submitting sites within their own borders.<ref name="NYT lunar preservation story" />

Interest in according the site some formal protection grew in the early 21st century with the announcement of the [[Google Lunar X Prize]] for private corporations to successfully build spacecraft and reach the Moon; a $1 million bonus was offered for any competitor that visited a historic site on the Moon. One team, led by [[Astrobotic Technology]], announced it would attempt to land a craft at Tranquility Base. Although it canceled those plans, the [[Google Lunar X Prize#Objections to the Heritage Bonus Prizes|ensuing controversy]] led NASA to request that any other missions to the Moon, private or governmental, human or robotic, keep a distance of at least {{convert|75|m|sp=us}} from the site.<ref name="NYT lunar preservation story" />

In 2020, the ''One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act''<ref>''One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act'' {{USStatute|116|275|134|3357|2020|12|31}}</ref> was enacted, protecting Tranquility Base and other Apollo landing sites from damage from US-licensed space activity.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Engel |first1=Currie |title=Inside the Fight to Save the Moon's Historic Sites |url=https://time.com/5627640/moon-historic-sites/ |access-date=July 19, 2019 |magazine=Time |date=July 18, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>