Lunar Leftovers: How the Moon Became a Trash Can

The moon has only been accessible for decades, rather than hundreds of years.  However, in the short time available to humanity it is estimated that we have left over one hundred and seventy thousand kilos of debris on the surface of our once pristine satellite.  Here are some of the more notable pieces of trash on the moon.

Luna 2 - 1959

If HG Wells and others were correct and there were civilizations on the moon then they would have expelled a communal gasp of horror in 1959 when the first piece of man made technology hit the moon dust.  Looking now like some steam punk version of what we regularly send spinning in to space, Luna 2 was launched by the Soviets when the Cold War was at its height.  The collision with the moon at least proved on thing - that our nearest neighbor in space has no appreciable magnetic field.  To add insult to injury, half an hour after Luna 2 hit the moon, so did the third stage of its rocket.

Luna 9 - 1966

1966 - The Beatles controlled the airways of the planet below but all eyes were looking upwards in anticipation of the first soft lunar landing.  Luna 9 did not disappoint.  It sent a series of TV and radio signals from the surface and finally proved one thing that had been disquieting scientists for many years.  That was that the moon would not simply swallow up anything that landed on it but the surface was able to hold significantly heavy man made objects.  After three days contact was lost with Luna 9 and so it joined the rest of the defunct junk beginning to pile up on the lunar landscape.

Apollo 11 - 1969

The list of Lunas and Surveyors continued, some crashing and some making successful landings.  Of course the significant date in terms of humanity and the moon is July 21 1969.  The Eagle landed and left behind it quite a lot of stuff.  Among the objects they left were an American flag and a plaque which reads Here Men From The Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We Came in Peace For All Mankind.  They also left being a memorial bag containing such items as a gold olive branch and a disk carrying messages of greeting from world leaders.  After The Eagled ascended back in to space its ascent stage was jettisoned.  It is thought that after a few months circling the moon its orbit would have decayed and rejoined the descent stage on the moon.

Moon Buggy - 1971 onwards

Possibly one of the more useful objects left on the moon during the Apollo mission was the Lunar Buggy - if of course it still worked (which it wouldn't).  There are three altogether on the surface, gently gathering dust, left over from Apollo 15 through to 17.  First used in 1971 it hugely increased the mobility of the astronauts.  It provided the most fun experience possible outside of earth's atmosphere - possibly to this very day.

http://www.scienceray.com/Astronomy/Lunar-Leftovers-How-the-Moon-Became-a-Trash-Can.699919