I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2617 

To establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on 

the Moon, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 8, 2013 

Ms. EDWARDS (for herself and Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National 

Historical Park on the Moon, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Apollo Lunar Landing 

5 Legacy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2617 IH

1 (1) on July 20, 1969, Neil A. Armstrong and 

2 Edwin E. ‘‘Buzz’’ Aldrin Jr. became the first people 

3 to set foot on another celestial body, during the 

4 Apollo 11 mission; 

5 (2) between 1969 and 1972, Apollo Missions 

6 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 all saw American astro7 nauts visit the surface of the Moon; 

8 (3) the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, which was 

9 aborted due to a serious malfunction en route to the 

10 Moon, also circled the Moon; 

11 (4) the Apollo lunar program was one of the 

12 greatest achievements in American history; 

13 (5) as commercial enterprises and foreign na14 tions acquire the ability to land on the Moon it is 

15 necessary to protect the Apollo lunar landing sites 

16 for posterity; and 

17 (6) establishing the Historical Park under this 

18 Act will expand and enhance the protection and 

19 preservation of the Apollo lunar landing sites and 

20 provide for greater recognition and public under21 standing of this singular achievement in American 

22 history. 

23 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

24 The purposes of this Act are— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2617 IH

1 (1) to preserve and protect for the benefit of 

2 present and future generations the nationally signifi3 cant historic sites associated with the Historical 

4 Park; 

5 (2) to preserve and protect for scientific inquiry 

6 the artifacts described in section 5(b); and 

7 (3) to improve public understanding of the 

8 Apollo program and its legacy through preservation 

9 of the historic resources associated with the Apollo 

10 lunar landing sites. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

15 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

16 (2) APOLLO LUNAR LANDING SITES.—The term 

17 ‘‘Apollo lunar landing sites’’ means all areas of the 

18 Moon where astronauts and instruments connected 

19 to the Apollo program between 1969 and 1972 

20 touched the lunar surface. 

21 (3) HISTORICAL PARK.—The term ‘‘Historical 

22 Park’’ means the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites Na23 tional Historical Park established under section 5. 

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of the Interior. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2617 IH

1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF APOLLO LUNAR LANDING 

2 SITES NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, there shall be estab5 lished as a unit of the National Park System the Apollo 

6 Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park. 

7 (b) PARK COMPONENTS.—The Historical Park may 

8 only be comprised, as determined by the Secretary in con9 sultation with the Administrator, of— 

10 (1) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as11 sociated with the Apollo 11 mission, which landed on 

12 the lunar surface July 20, 1969, at Mare 

13 Tranquillitatis; 

14 (2) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as15 sociated with the Apollo 12 mission, which landed on 

16 the lunar surface November 19, 1969, at Oceanus 

17 Procellarum; 

18 (3) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as19 sociated with the Apollo 13 mission, which had an 

20 instrumentality crash land on the lunar surface 

21 April 14, 1970; 

22 (4) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as23 sociated with the Apollo 14 mission, which landed on 

24 the lunar surface February 5, 1971, at Fra Mauro; 

25 (5) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as26 sociated with the Apollo 15 mission, which landed on 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2617 IH

1 the lunar surface July 30, 1971, at Hadley-Apen2 nines; 

3 (6) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as4 sociated with the Apollo 16 mission, which landed on 

5 the lunar surface April 21, 1972, at Descartes; and 

6 (7) the artifacts on the surface of the Moon as7 sociated with the Apollo 17 mission, which landed on 

8 the lunar surface December 11, 1972, at Taurus9 Littrow. 

10 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

12 the Historical Park in accordance with— 

13 (1) this Act; 

14 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

15 National Park System, including— 

16 (A) the National Park System Organic Act 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

18 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

19 461 et seq.); and 

20 (3) applicable international law and treaties. 

21 (b) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 

22 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary and the Administrator, pursuant to the inter24 agency management agreement entered into under section 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2617 IH

1 7(a), shall jointly complete a general management plan for 

2 the Historical Park. 

3 (c) DONATIONS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

4 (1) AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN5 CIES.—The Secretary may enter into one or more 

6 agreements with the head of a Federal agency to 

7 provide public access to, and management, interpre8 tation, and historic preservation of, historically sig9 nificant Apollo lunar landing site resources under 

10 the jurisdiction or control of the Federal agency. 

11 (2) DONATIONS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

12 The Secretary may accept donations from, and enter 

13 into cooperative agreements with, foreign govern14 ments and international bodies, organizations, or in15 dividuals to further the purpose of an interagency 

16 agreement entered into under paragraph (1) or to 

17 provide visitor services and administrative facilities 

18 within reasonable proximity to the Historical Park. 

19 (3) DONATIONS TO NASA.—For the purposes of 

20 this Act, the Administrator may accept, hold, admin21 ister, and use gifts, bequests, and devises (including 

22 labor and services). 

23 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the AdVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:40 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2617.IH H2617

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2617 IH

1 ministrator shall enter into an agreement providing for the 

2 primary management of the Historical Park by the Ad3 ministrator. The agreement shall delineate the respective 

4 duties and responsibilities of the Secretary and the Admin5 istrator in managing the Historical Park. Responsibilities 

6 of the Administrator shall specifically include— 

7 (1) ensuring proper monitoring of the Apollo 

8 lunar landing sites; 

9 (2) managing access to the sites, including 

10 through coordination with other spacefaring nations 

11 and entities; and 

12 (3) in conjunction with the Director of the 

13 Smithsonian Institution, ensuring an accurate cata14 loguing of items in the Historical Park. 

15 (b) OTHER AGENCIES.—The Secretary and the Ad16 ministrator shall consult with other agencies, as needed, 

17 to effectively carry out management of the Historical 

18 Park. 

19 SEC. 8. WORLD HERITAGE SITE DESIGNATION. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the 

21 Historical Park, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

22 Administrator, shall submit the Apollo 11 lunar landing 

23 site to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 

24 Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for designation as a 

25 World Heritage Site. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2617 IH

1 SEC. 9. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or ter3 minate any existing agreements between the National Aer4 onautics and Space Administration and the Smithsonian 

5 Institution concerning the management of National Aero6 nautics and Space Administration historical artifacts. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS