Lunar Ethics & Sustainability Institute

Stewardship beyond Earth

LESI is a nonpartisan institute advancing rigorous ethics, sustainability standards, and cooperative governance for the Moon—before extractive practices can cause irreversible harm.

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  • Science-led
  • Policy-focused
  • Open access

Mission

Ensure lunar activity—exploration, science, or resource use—is governed by ethics and sustainability. We develop standards, convene stakeholders, and empower the public to keep the Moon a shared heritage for all humankind.

Ethics

Define principles that prioritize preservation, transparency, and intergenerational equity.

Sustainability

Advance precautionary baselines, impact assessments, and minimal-footprint operations.

Governance

Support interoperable norms via COPUOS and national space agencies.

Programs

Lunar Heritage Atlas

Open registry of culturally and scientifically significant lunar sites with proposed protection buffers.

Responsible Mission Framework

Templates for Lunar Environmental Impact Assessments and pre-flight disclosure standards.

Open Grants

Mini‑grants for regolith science, dust dynamics, and stewardship economics.

Policy

  • Ban helium‑3 mining for profit. Amend international agreements to enshrine the Moon as a protected commons.
  • Heritage protection zones. Buffer Apollo, Luna, Chang’e and similar sites; prohibit extractive work nearby.
  • Mandatory L‑EIA. Require transparent Lunar Environmental Impact Assessments for all operators.
  • Notification & data sharing. Reduce conflict and redundancy; publish mission footprints and timelines.
Download policy brief (PDF soon) Testimony request

Research & Publications

White Paper: A Categorical Ban on Lunar Helium‑3 Mining

Rationale, ethics, and implementation roadmap for a permanent prohibition on commercial helium‑3 extraction.

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Baseline Science Agenda

Priorities for dust dynamics, regolith stratigraphy, and heritage site integrity monitoring.

Download (soon)

Join LESI

Whether you’re a researcher, policymaker, educator, or citizen advocate, you can help keep the Moon a place of shared wonder—not extraction.

White Paper: A Categorical Ban on Lunar Helium-3 Mining

Summary: The Lunar Ethics & Sustainability Institute affirms that under no circumstances should the Moon be mined for helium-3 for commercial profit. This paper details the risks, legal gaps, and the need for a permanent ban.

  • Scientific reality: No viable helium-3 fusion reactors exist.
  • Environmental integrity: Mining would irreversibly damage lunar regolith and dust dynamics.
  • Heritage preservation: Apollo, Luna, and Chang’e sites are priceless cultural assets.
  • Equity: A lunar rush would entrench inequality and geopolitical conflict.

Implementation roadmap: Build international coalitions, propose treaty amendments, and enforce sanctions on violators. Redirect resources to terrestrial renewables instead of speculative lunar extraction.

For full PDF version, contact us at lunarsustainabilityinstitute@gmail.com.