We have been on the moon 6 timesfrom the 1969 to the 1972with as many missions as the Apollo programstarting with Apollo 11, which on July 20, 1969 saw the first humans land on the lunar surface, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. These missions have allowed us to make important scientific discoveries also thanks to lunar samples brought back to Earth. From our satellite, however, we have not only taken and brought something back, but we also left and abandoned objects for about 170 tons. Here is an incomplete list:
- about 70 space vehicles including rovers and modules
- scientific experiments
- 5 flags
- work tools (hammers, shovels, pliers)
- cameras and video cameras
- a photo
- a silicon disk
- a pin
- a small sculpture about 8.5 cm high
- a gold peace symbol representing an olive branch
- personal hygiene tools
- 12 pairs of boots
- thermal blankets
- food containers
- 2 golf balls
- as well as the astronauts’ biological waste.
Commemorative objects on the Moon
Among the objects left on our satellite, it is impossible not to mention the American flags, a symbol of America’s victory in the space race. In all likelihood, today the flags left by the Apollo missions are completely faded – therefore completely white due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
However, there are also other commemorative objects such as the sculpture Fallen Astronaut (“fallen astronaut”) brought by the Apollo 15 mission to commemorate, along with a small plaque of astronauts and cosmonauts who died in the space age or a olive branch in gold left by Apollo 11 as an unmistakable sign of peace.
This is not the only peaceful symbol left by the Apollo 11 mission on the Moon: there is also a silicon disk containing messages of peace coming from 73 Heads of State, including that of Joseph SaragatPresident of the Italian Republic at the time.
Symbols of life on Earth
Space explorers have also abandoned on the Moon objects that refer to the daily life of humans such as clothing, work tools or sports equipment. Famous are for example the videos in which the astronaut David Scott he performs the experiment on free fall of a feather and a hammer, or the one in which Alan Shepard of Apollo 14 becomes the first golfer on the Moon. Both the club and the balls, along with the hammer, are still on our satellite.
There are also more personal objects such as the family photography of the astronaut’s family Charles Duke of Apollo 16 or the portrait Of James Irwin of the previous mission, or religious objects such as a copy of the Bible.
Science experiments
The most important scientific instrument installed on the Moon is probably the laser retroreflector left by Apollo 11. Still used today for the experiment Lunar Laser Rangingallowed us to precisely measure the distance between our satellite and the Earth through the use of a laser, thanks to which we were able to understand that the Moon is moving away from us at an average speed of 3.8 centimeters per year.
Biological waste
There are also 96 bags containing excrement, urine And vomit. The astronauts, although they had a diet calibrated to reduce the need to relieve themselves, still produced some and, obviously, were not brought back to Earth.
Decades later, the excrements, preserved in special containers, could today hide important scientific data related to life, especially that relating to bacteriaThe latter have in fact demonstrated that they can survive extreme environments on Earth, but we are not certain that they can withstand the lunar environment.
