I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3766 
To require any Federal agency that issues licenses to conduct activities 
in outer space to include in the requirements for such licenses an agree-
ment relating to the preservation and protection of the Apollo 11 landing 
site, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2019 
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. LUCAS, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of 
Oklahoma, and Mr. BABIN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require any Federal agency that issues licenses to conduct 
activities in outer space to include in the requirements 
for such licenses an agreement relating to the preserva-
tion and protection of the Apollo 11 landing site, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(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, will mark the 50th anniver-
sary 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 ce-
lestial body off the Earth. 
(3) The landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and 
humanity’s first off-world footprints are achieve-
ments unparalleled in history, a direct product of the 
work and perseverance of the more than 400,000 in-
dividuals 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 sec-
tion referred to as ‘‘NASA’’) are African-American 
women 
such 
as 
Katherine 
Johnson, 
Dorothy 
Vaughn, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden, 
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who made critical contributions to NASA space pro-
grams. 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 Arm-
strong and Buzz Aldrin were accompanied by mes-
sages of peace from the leaders of more than 70 
countries. 
(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 uni-
versal 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 achieve-
ments of humankind in the realm of space trav-
el and exploration; and 
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(C) contain artifacts and other evidence of 
human exploration activities that remain a po-
tential source of cultural, historical, archae-
ological, anthropological, scientific, and engi-
neering knowledge. 
(8) As commercial enterprises and more coun-
tries acquire the ability to land on the Moon, it is 
necessary to ensure the recognition and protection of 
the Apollo 11 landing site and other historic landing 
sites together with all the human effort and innova-
tion the sites represent. 
(9) On July 20, 2011, NASA published the vol-
untary guidance entitled ‘‘NASA’s Recommendations 
to Space-Faring Entities: How to Protect and Pre-
serve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Gov-
ernment Lunar Artifacts’’. 
(10) In March 2018, the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy published a report entitled ‘‘Pro-
tecting & Preserving Apollo Program Lunar Landing 
Sites & Artifacts’’. 
(11) The Apollo 11 landing site and other simi-
lar historic landing sites in outer space merit legal 
protection from inadvertent or intentional inter-
ference with such sites or the environment sur-
rounding such sites in order to prevent irremediable 
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loss of archaeological, anthropological, historical, sci-
entific, and engineering significance and value. 
(12) Space-faring entities based outside the 
United States have the capacity to land on the 
Moon. 
(13) The licensing requirements under this Act 
are applicable only to United States-based activities 
in outer space and therefore have limited efficacy for 
protecting against intentional or inadvertent disturb-
ances of the Apollo 11 landing site and other similar 
historic sites from space-faring entities based outside 
the United States. 
(14) A binding international agreement to pro-
tect the Apollo 11 landing site and other similar his-
toric sites by requiring adherence to the rec-
ommendations described in section 3(b) would be 
sufficient to protect against intentional or inad-
vertent disturbances of the Apollo 11 landing site 
and other similar historic sites. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the President should initiate a diplomatic initia-
tive to negotiate an international agreement described in 
subsection (a)(14). 
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SEC. 3. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING PRESER-
VATION OF HISTORIC LUNAR LANDING SITES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, any Federal 
agency that issues a license to conduct an activity in outer 
space shall require each applicant for such a license— 
(1) to agree to abide by the recommendations 
described in subsection (b); or 
(2) in the case of an activity that requires a li-
cense from more than one Federal agency, to certify 
(as described in paragraph (1) or (2), as applicable, 
of section 1746 of title 28, United States Code) that 
the applicant has submitted an application for a li-
cense for such activity to another Federal agency 
that satisfies paragraph (1). 
(b) RECOMMENDATIONS
DESCRIBED.—The rec-
ommendations 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; 
(2) the updates to ‘‘NASA’s Recommendations 
to Space-Faring Entities: How to Protect and Pre-
serve the Historic and Scientific Value of U.S. Gov-
ernment Lunar Artifacts’’ issued by the National 
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Aeronautics and Space Administration on October 
28, 2011; and 
(3) any successor heritage preservation rec-
ommendations, guidelines, or principles relating to 
the protection and preservation of Government lunar 
artifacts issued by the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration. 
(c) EXEMPTIONS.—A Federal agency issuing a li-
cense described in subsection (a) may, in consultation with 
the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, exempt specific activities of an applicant 
from the historic preservation agreement or certification 
under subsection (a) if such bona fide activities are deter-
mined to have legitimate and significant historical, archeo-
logical, anthropological, scientific, or engineering value. 
(d) AUTHORITY TO ASSESS PENALTY FEES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A Federal agency issuing a 
license described in subsection (a) may assess a pen-
alty fee on the holder of such license for conduct 
that violates one or more of terms of the license re-
lating to the agreement under subsection (a)(1). 
(2) AMOUNT.—The penalty fee amount as-
sessed under paragraph (1) shall be— 
(A) commensurate with the nature and ex-
tent of the violation; and 
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(B) sufficient to deter future violations. 
(e) ACTIVITY DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘activity’’ means an action or endeavor in outer space 
that— 
(1) is intended to be lunar in nature, including 
lunar orbit, landing, and impact; or 
(2) has a greater likelihood than not of becom-
ing lunar in nature, including unintentional orbit 
and impact. 
Æ 
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