Sea of Tranquility Junkyard
Following up on my post from the other day, where I talked about mirrors left on the moon for earth-based experiments, it seems that’s not the only thing that has been left on the moon through the years of our interaction with it. For example, if you landed in the Sea of Tranquility right now, you’d find:
- Apollo 11 Lunar Module Descent Stage
- Neil Armstrong’s Apollo Space Boots, Model A7L
- Empty Food Bags
- Tongs
- Bulk Sample Scoop
- Camera (Hasselblad El Data)
- Medals Commemorating Two Dead Cosmonauts
- Film Magazines
- Food Assembly, LM (4 man days)
- Urine collection assembly, large
- Bag, Emisis
- Footprint
This is just a small list of the items that are currently on the moon, awaiting pickup by a 21st century garbage truck! I can understand the reason those items needed to be left behind, lest the space capsule weigh too much to escape the moon’s gravity, but it sure seems a shame that we leave junk on the place outside of the earth we visit!
A more complete list of junk on the moon can be at the Lunar Legacy Project.