One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act

One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act

This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to

• add the recommendations described in the following clause 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 NASA;
• inform other relevant federal agencies of the recommendations; and
• encourage the use of best practices, consistent with the recommendations, by such agencies.

The recommendations described are

• 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 NASA on July 20, 2011, and updated on October 28, 2011; and
• any successor recommendations, guidelines, best practices, or standards related to the principle of due regard and the limitation of harmful interference with Apollo landing site artifacts issued by NASA.

NASA may waive the conditions or requirements 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 NASA so long as

• such waiver is accompanied by a finding from NASA that carrying out the first directed obligation of this bill would be unduly prohibitive to an activity or activities of legitimate and significant historical, archaeological, anthropological, scientific, or engineering value; and
• the finding 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 no later than 30 days before the waiver takes effect.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov