All these objects are witnesses of human activity in space and are as precious as archeological items buried several feet underneath us: like Egyptian mummies on Earth, it is important that we protect them for both their historical and scientific values which are beyond estimation (e.g. Perseverance and Ingenuity in the picture below, credits: NASA, JPL).
We must protect them not only against time and weathering but also from inadvertent destruction and misappropriation as space will become more accessible to private enterprise. Because small items such as cameras, geology tools and any detachable part are more prone to end as souvenirs for space tourists than large rovers or landers, their vulnerability must be emphasized.
This catalogue, the most accurate to date, is a step in preserving them by establishing what’s actually out there and where it is precisely.