The emergence of an environmental ethos on Luna

Questions of how humanity should undertake and regulate activities on the Moon have been considered for over half a century. In this chapter we outline the various philosophical approaches out of which an environmental ethos may emerge on Luna (the Earth’s Moon). We draw on existing thinking within environmental ethics, particularly in regards to wildernesses, and consider the diversity of religious and philosophical frameworks and nascent relevant legal structures. Commercial and competitive considerations militate against stakeholders readily adopting shared norms. Nevertheless, there remains a need for some sort of a Treaty or other form of binding agreement that can be signed, ratified and enacted by all spacefaring nations, rather as the Antarctic Treaty has been by all nations with direct involvement there. This need is becoming more urgent