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Photo by Eric Long, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 2009-4815)
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The Weirdest Stuff on the Moon
How did this collection of items—from family photos to a hunk of gold—end up on the moon?
Photo by Eric Long, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 2009-4815). (Camera); NASA (Olive Branch, Family Photo); Sean Locke/EyeEm/Getty Images (Bag); Shutterstock.com (All Other Images)
1- 96 bags of astronaut poop
2- A family photo
3- A gold olive branch
4- A video camera
5- Two golf balls
Photographs. Golf balls. Poop. What do these items have in common? They are a few of the many items from Earth sitting on the moon right now.
How did they all get there? From 1969 to 1972, the U.S. space agency NASA completed six missions to the moon as part of the Apollo program. During that time, astronauts left hundreds of objects behind. The moon has no wind, no weather, and no people. Because of this, these objects have all been sitting there undisturbed for decades.
But Why?
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Why leave objects behind? In some cases, the item has a special meaning. For example, in 1969 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human ever to walk on the moon. He left a gold olive branch as a symbol of peace for all people on Earth.
Other times, objects are left for personal reasons—or just for fun. In 1972, astronaut Charles Duke left a family photo on the moon. Alan Shepard snuck a golf club onto the 1971 Apollo 14 mission. He found time to play a bit on the surface of the moon. The two balls he hit are still there!
Most often, though, astronauts leave items on the moon because they have to. During the Apollo missions, astronauts needed to bring moon rocks back to Earth to be studied. Moon rocks weigh a lot! To allow for the extra weight, the astronauts left behind as much as possible—tools, video cameras, and other equipment.
The Next Mission
One of the more disgusting items left on the moon is human waste. There are 96 bags of astronaut poop up there. At least it doesn’t stink! There are no smells in space. Plus, the poop has scientific value. It could offer insights into how space affects the human body—that is, if the poop is ever brought back to Earth.
NASA is planning to land humans on the moon again in 2024. If you were one of the lucky astronauts on that mission, what would you leave behind?
