Designated Lunar Areas

Hunch
Written by Open Lunar
Project Contributor: Aaron Mackey, LAUREN PAULSON, Christine Tiballi

Exploring an open-access model(s) that facilitates inclusive, peaceful exploration and development in line with Articles I and II of the Outer Space Treaty.

Open Lunar Impact

Designated Lunar Areas enables our vision towards fostering greater sustainability and collaboration among lunar actors.

About the Project

This research is exploring and identifying high value areas with the aim of developing a framework for the designation. There is a powerful opportunity to identify and designate areas on the Moon specific to certain activities, as this could help foster greater coordination, logistics, responsibility,  levels of cooperation on the Moon, as well as alleviate potential areas of conflict among actors

About the Need

As missions increase, so will competition for key sites and resources, leading to coordination challenges, resource depletion, and potential conflicts among actors. A system for designating activity areas—such as research areas, quiet areas, infrastructure sites, or experimental regions—could help alleviate these issues by clarifying land use, fostering cooperation, and ensuring the safe and peaceful exploration of the Moon.

About the Solution

The initial research for Designated Lunar Areas commenced in January 2025, and a Field Guide was published in September 2025 and the Showcase took place in October 2025.

In 2026, two Fellows built on this work, producing a Lunar Radius Framework. The framework explores the operationalisation of designated lunar areas and how to size them on a technical basis, plus an open-access online simulation exercise exploring designated areas and lunar resource allocation amid strategic competition.

Explore writing and research related to this topic:

Outputs:

  • September 19, 2025 | Lunar Areas Field Guide by Christine Tiballi

    • This operations guide explores real-world scenarios at high-interest lunar sites, applying a novel three-ring safety area framework with a special focus on nuclear FSP integration. It offers actionable tools and policy insights for safe, collaborative exploration and resource management. 

  • September 4, 2026 | Lunar Radius Framework: Grounded Operational Radius Design for Lunar Designated Areas by Aaron Mackey

    • This decision-logic toolkit examines coordination scenarios at high-traffic lunar south pole sites, applying a novel three-ring operational area framework to determine where and how cooperation is required. It offers lunar operators and policymakers a practical method for sizing operational areas and resolving overlap before conflicts arise.

  • Overlap: A Governance Simulation of the Lunar South Pole by Vic Paulson

    • National and commercial programmes are converging on the lunar south pole for its water ice and other resources, and their operations are increasingly likely to overlap. The Outer Space Treaty bans national appropriation but says nothing about how to coordinate activity at a shared site. Section 11 of the US-led Artemis Accords introduces safety zones to address this, but it leaves their size to the nature of each operation. The China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) plans activity at lunar south polar sites too, but does not recognise the Artemis Accords and contests their principles like safety zones. Overlap, built by Open Lunar fellow Vic Paulson, is a browser-based governance simulation of the south pole. It runs on real spacecraft data so that potential conflicts can be rehearsed, and their outcomes measured, before they happen.

Fellowship Showcases:

Ground Rules: Decision logic for lunar ground operations | Aaron Mackey, 2026

Overlap: Multi-actor simulation of lunar ground missions | Vic Paulson, 2026

Designated Lunar Areas | Christine Tiballi, 2025

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