The escalating pace of space exploration has ushered in a new era reminiscent of the space race of the 1960s. However, the discourse on exogeoconservation – the protection of geological heritage – now demands a prominent place in decision-making processes. This paper underscores the urgency of developing interdisciplinary research frameworks, legal regimes, and best practices to ensure sustainable and responsible exploration of extraterrestrial environments. The scientific community holds a pivotal role in quantifying the significance of these environments, safeguard the invaluable heritage of celestial bodies while allowing for responsible resource utilization, and prevent the consequences of unchecked exploration. This paper calls for embracing exogeoconservation as a new articulated discipline that needs encompassing foundational principles and interdisciplinary cooperation to balance progress with preservation.
Barbara De Toffoli (2025) studied this question.