    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 116-275
    116th Congress

    An Act

    To require the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to add
    recommendations and inform other relevant agencies of information
    relating to the principle of due regard and the limitation of harmful
    interference with Apollo landing site artifacts, and for other
    purposes. <>

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
    United States of America in Congress assembled, <>
    SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``One Small Step to Protect Human
    Heritage in Space Act''.
    SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
    (1) On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from
    the John F. Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil A. Armstrong,
    Edwin E. ``Buzz'' Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins.
    (2) July 20, 2019, marked the 50th anniversary of the date
    on which the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the Moon and Neil
    Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on
    a celestial body off the Earth.
    (3) The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and humanity's
    first off-world footprints are achievements unparalleled in
    history, a direct product of the work and perseverance of the
    more than 400,000 individuals who contributed to the development
    of the Apollo missions on the shoulders of centuries of science
    and engineering pioneers from all corners of the world.
    (4) Among the thousands of individuals who have contributed
    to the achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration (in this section referred to as ``NASA'') are
    African-American women such as Katherine Johnson, Dorothy
    Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden, who made
    critical contributions to NASA space programs. Katherine Johnson
    worked at NASA for 35 years and calculated the trajectory of the
    Apollo 11 landing and the trajectories for the spaceflights of
    astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Katherine Johnson,
    together with many other individuals the work of whom often went
    unacknowledged, helped broaden the scope of space travel and
    charted new frontiers for humanity's exploration of space.
    (5) The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft was made on
    behalf of all humankind, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were
    accompanied by messages of peace from the leaders of more than
    70 countries.

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    (6) The lunar landing sites of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, the
    robotic spacecraft that preceded the Apollo 11 mission, and the
    crewed and robotic spacecraft that followed, are of outstanding
    universal value to humanity.
    (7) Such landing sites--
    (A) are the first archaeological sites with human
    activity that are not on Earth;
    (B) provide evidence of the first achievements of
    humankind in the realm of space travel and exploration;
    and
    (C) contain artifacts and other evidence of human
    exploration activities that remain a potential source of
    cultural, historical, archaeological, anthropological,
    scientific, and engineering knowledge.
    (8) On July 20, 2011, NASA published the voluntary guidance
    entitled ``NASA's Recommendations to Space-Faring Entities: How
    to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of
    U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts''.
    (9) In March 2018, the Office of Science and Technology
    Policy published a report entitled ``Protecting & Preserving
    Apollo Program Lunar Landing Sites & Artifacts''.
    (10) Article one of the ``Treaty on Principles Governing the
    Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,
    including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,'' commonly known
    as the ``Outer Space Treaty,'' states ``[o]uter space, including
    the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for
    exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any
    kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with
    international law, and there shall be free access to all areas
    of celestial bodies.''
    (11) Article eight of the Outer Space Treaty states, ``[a]
    State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched
    into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and
    control over such object, and over any personnel thereof, while
    in outer space or on a celestial body. Ownership of objects
    launched into outer space, including objects landed or
    constructed on a celestial body, and of their component parts,
    is not affected by their presence in outer space or on a
    celestial body or by their return to the Earth.''
    (12) Article nine of the Outer Space Treaty states, ``[i]n
    the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and
    other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be
    guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance
    and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including
    the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the
    corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the
    Treaty,'' and continues, ``[i]f a State Party to the Treaty has
    reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by it
    or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other
    celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference
    with activities of other States Parties in the peaceful
    exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other
    celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international
    consultations before proceeding with any such activity or
    experiment. A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to
    believe that an activity or experiment planned by another

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    State Party in outer space, including the moon and other
    celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference
    with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer
    space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, may
    request consultation concerning the activity or experiment.''.

    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
    (1) as commercial enterprises and more countries acquire the
    ability to land on the Moon, it is necessary to encourage the
    development of best practices to respect the principle of due
    regard and to limit harmful interference to the Apollo landing
    site artifacts in acknowledgment of the human effort and
    innovation they represent, as well as their archaeological,
    anthropological, historical, scientific, and engineering
    significance and value; and
    (2) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration should continue to develop best practices to
    respect the principle of due regard and limit harmful
    interference with historic Apollo lunar landing site artifacts.
    SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES RELATED TO APOLLO HISTORIC LUNAR LANDING
    SITE ARTIFACTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and
    Space Administration shall--
    (1) add the recommendations in subsection (b) as a condition
    or requirement to contracts, grants, agreements, partnerships or
    other arrangements pertaining to lunar activities carried out
    by, for, or in partnership with the National Aeronautics and
    Space Administration;
    (2) inform other relevant Federal agencies of the
    recommendations described in subsection (b); and
    (3) encourage the use of best practices, consistent with the
    recommendations in subsection (b), by other relevant Federal
    agencies.

    (b) Recommendations Described.--The recommendations described in
    this subsection are--
    (1) ``NASA's Recommendations to Space-Faring Entities: How
    to Protect and Preserve the Historic and Scientific Value of
    U.S. Government Lunar Artifacts'' issued by the National
    Aeronautics and Space Administration on July 20, 2011, and
    updated on October 28, 2011; and
    (2) any successor recommendations, guidelines, best
    practices, or standards relating to the principle of due regard
    and the limitation of harmful interference with Apollo landing
    site artifacts issued by the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration.

    (c) <>  Exemption.--The
    Administrator may waive the conditions or requirements from subsection
    (a)(1) as it applies to an individual contract, grant, agreement,
    partnership or other arrangement pertaining to lunar activities carried
    out by, for, or in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space
    Administration so long as--
    (1) such waiver is accompanied by a finding from the
    Administrator that carrying out the obligation of subsection
    (a)(1) would be unduly prohibitive to an activity or activities
    of legitimate and significant historical, archaeological,
    anthropological, scientific, or engineering value; and

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    (2) <>  the finding in paragraph (1) is
    provided to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of
    the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
    Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 30 days
    prior to the waiver taking effect.

    Approved December 31, 2020.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 1694:
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    SENATE REPORTS: No. 116-194 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and
    Transportation).
    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
    Vol. 165 (2019):
    July 18, considered and passed
    Senate.
    Vol. 166 (2020):
    Dec. 16, considered and passed
    House, amended.
    Dec. 19, Senate concurred in House
    amendments.