Man-Made Material Left on Moon

[Lurcher]

Has anyone read the list of all the rubbish and man-made objects left on the moon?

I know if we're going to go and explore new places it's difficult not to leave behind some evidence that we were there, and I accept we send probes and craft to planets which can't be returned, but it does seem that unfortunately NASA had the attitude that it was acceptable to just dump anything they didn't need to bring back on the surface of the moon.

Shame they didn't follow the countryside code of only taking photos and only leaving footprints!

Here's NASA's official list of what's up there.... (and when they say "Defecation Collection Device" they mean a bag of . . well, you know).

https://history.nasa.gov/FINAL Catalogue of Manmade Material on the Moon.pdf

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Xkcd had a comic in a similar vein earlier this week.

"The flags were probably vaporized on impact, because we launched it before we had finished figuring out how to land. That makes sense from an engineering standpoint, but also feels like a metaphor."

[barkis]

A fair few Skip Fulls there for sure. Now who's gonna clear it up I wonder ?
Wherever man Goeth, He'll leave his mess behind, whether on  Earth,  (Land or Sea),  Asteroid, Comet, Moon, or Planet.
We sure are an untidy species. We'd better get an Army of  Housewives  trained as Astronauts, to go get that lot cleaned up. ?

Ron.

 

[John]

I suspect the list of what was left there was driven by fuel availability in the LEM. They also took on a fair weight of lunar samples (22 kg for Apollo 11) so something had to be left behind to compensate. I believe the fuel margins were very tight.

 

 

[Lurcher]

True. But then they did manage to leave an entire luna buggy behind! That must have saved a bit of weight on the return flight.

And Ron! That is so sexist I'm glad my Wife and Daughter aren't here!! lol.

[Gina]

Hmm...  Maybe it's just as well I'm not your traditional housewife or I might have taken umbrage.

On topic though, I think it disgusting that any old rubbish should be left on the moon!  I'd call it "fly-tipping"!!!  I can understand that they couldn't take everything home form the manned moon landings but some of that rubbish is decidedly OTT.  And it's not only the moon - man has contaminated Mars too and the odd comet etc.

[bingevader]

And I'm not (or wasn't now I work full time) your particular house husband, or I might have taken some umbrage too!

[John]

23 minutes ago, Lurcher said:

True. But then they did manage to leave an entire luna buggy behind! That must have saved a bit of weight on the return flight.

 

But they had to land the buggy as well - from the same fuel reserves.

[barkis]

Sorry, no offence intended. Perhaps I was influenced by the TV show Extreme Cleaners, that showed cleaners, females and males, who had the unenviable task of cleaning homes that had suffered the lack of cleaning for years. I'm sure many of you also saw that prog.

They deserved the highest praise for what they endured. Anyway, no Offence.

Ron 

 

[Lurcher]

11 minutes ago, barkis said:

Sorry, no offence intended. Perhaps I was influenced by the TV show Extreme Cleaners, that showed cleaners, females and males, who had the unenviable task of cleaning homes that had suffered the lack of cleaning for years. I'm sure many of you also saw that prog.

They deserved the highest praise for what they endured. Anyway, no Offence.

Ron 

We know Ron I'm sure. We're all friends here! I'm sure we could all see it was just a joke. Sorry!

25 minutes ago, John said:

But they had to land the buggy as well - from the same fuel reserves.

So they calculated down the nth degree how much fuel they needed, but didn't think, you know what? Maybe we shouldn't dump stuff on the moon?

Some of the rubbish they left didn't weigh much.

Sorry, we're probably not going to agree on this one! I just think there's no excuse unless something goes wrong and you couldn't plan for it. Personally.

[JamesF]

This stuff is probably peanuts compared with the stuff we've deliberately crashed into the Moon, to be fair: SMART-1, Kaguya, Chang'e 1, LADEE.  And that's only the start...

James

[JamesF]

Hah!  Wikipedia even has a list:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_landings_on_extraterrestrial_bodies#Luna_(Earth's_Moon)

James

[Alien 13]

Its not just the scrap metal etc, we must have deposited lots of "life" too. I wonder if any of it still lives?

Alan

[mikeDnight]

As a child of the 60's, I was brought up to never leave litter about. And when the Brit's went to the Moon way back in 1901, the only thing we left behind was Henry Cavor. The space craft in its entirety returned to earth - unlike the US venture. And when we returned to the Moon in 1989, we were careful to pack everything away and bring it home; so whatever rubbish is up there is no fault of ours!

[Paz]

5 hours ago, Lurcher said:

Here's NASA's official list of what's up there.... (and when they say "Defecation Collection Device" they mean a bag of . . well, you know).

If the human race gets destroyed and all traces of us disappear from the earth it's good to know that this very bag could be our only legacy. ?

[maw lod qan]

Sadly I'll admit we've been slow learners, but I'm thankful for it because in the mid 60's, the 5 cent return on soda bottles was a God Send!

But now getting serious. We're talking the first trip to the moon!! So perhaps we can be a bit forgiving, as long as they promise to go back and start cleaning up.

But from what I understand, Mt. Everest is much worse. And you can walk to get there.

[JamesF]

9 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

But from what I understand, Mt. Everest is much worse. And you can walk to get there.

The BBC carried a news story earlier this week about the regularity with which dead bodies are now turning up on Everest as the ice is melting :(

James 

[John]

5 hours ago, Lurcher said:

So they calculated down the nth degree how much fuel they needed, but didn't think, you know what? Maybe we shouldn't dump stuff on the moon?

Some of the rubbish they left didn't weigh much.

Sorry, we're probably not going to agree on this one! I just think there's no excuse unless something goes wrong and you couldn't plan for it. Personally.

I don't think we disagree but these missions were planned in the 50 years ago and I suspect priorities were different then.

Besides what good can being annoyed about it now actually do ?. Unless it prompts someone to mount a mission to tidy up what was left there ?

We learn from past mistakes and try not to repeat them. Thats all we can do.

 

[Gina]

That's true.

[kippford]

6 hours ago, Gina said:

Hmm...  Maybe it's just as well I'm not your traditional housewife or I might have taken umbrage.

On topic though, I think it disgusting that any old rubbish should be left on the moon!  I'd call it "fly-tipping"!!!  I can understand that they couldn't take everything home form the manned moon landings but some of that rubbish is decidedly OTT.  And it's not only the moon - man has contaminated Mars too and the odd comet etc.

Who remembers Humprey Umbrage?

6 hours ago, Gina said:

Hmm...  Maybe it's just as well I'm not your traditional housewife or I might have taken umbrage.

On topic though, I think it disgusting that any old rubbish should be left on the moon!  I'd call it "fly-tipping"!!!  I can understand that they couldn't take everything home form the manned moon landings but some of that rubbish is decidedly OTT.  And it's not only the moon - man has contaminated Mars too and the odd comet etc.

 

[SIDO]

I think these gents were surely roughing it in the traditions of those earlier earthly terrestrial explorers  here on earth, pushing the limited technologies of their time to new discoveries and greater achievement.

 

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

Anyone want a polarizing filter?.

Collection only.

[Guest chaz2b]

There’s some damn excellent cameras up there, I’m getting a few rocket motors fitted to my drone so hopefully .......what? How many rockets? [removed word].

 

chaz

[Alien 13]

I wonder if it might actually be beneficial to send more junk to the Moon to be used as raw materials/parts for any future colonization, for example end of life satellites and even the ISS when its worn out.

Alan

[Ruud]

Here on Earth, if we find the waste of a neolithic village we don't complain. Rather, we're very happy about it. 

There is a tiny amount of waste on the Moon, and one day it will all be of enormous historical value.

It's a treasure really.