Wherever people go, they leave their traces behind. There are already 130 million man-made parts flying around in Earth’s orbit. And the US space agency Nasa took the trouble to create one years ago Catalog to create space certificates on the moon. The twelve astronauts of the Apollo program alone left hundreds of things on the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. Unforgettable are the golf tees of Alan Shepard, who left two golf balls there in 1971, or the family photo that Charlie Duke left in the moondust a year later. Not to mention other Apollo equipment: expensive Hasselblad cameras or lunar cars that future visitors can find on the moon.
With man’s return to the moon, his traces there will also multiply. Dozens of lunar missions are planned, including the Artemis program, which will allow astronauts to conduct research on the moon again.
Private space companies are also striving for the moon, such as the US company Astrobotic from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She called a cargo ferry in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Monday morning Peregrine launched, which is scheduled to land on the moon as the first private mission at the end of February. However, in April 2023, a Japanese company failed in a similar mission. On board the approximately 1.90 by 2.50 meter US ferry are 20 payloads from agencies, universities and commercial providers, including small scientific lunar rovers from the USA and Mexico. A research contribution also comes from the German Aerospace Center (DLR): A radiation detector is intended to measure cosmic radiation on its journey to the moon and on the lunar surface. The results are important for astronautical missions. According to DLR, radiation levels on the moon are 800 times higher than on Earth, where the magnetic field and atmosphere provide protection.
First golf balls and space debris, now also ash
NASA is planning further collaborations to bring cargo to the moon. It awards delivery orders to companies like Astrobotic. “Just as shipping companies like DHL send packages around the world, Astrobotic sends items to the moon,” the company said. However, DHL is also there – with 150 so-called moon boxes. For $460 to $1,660, customers could fill the 1-by-2-inch capsules with personal items – including stories written by children and a rock from Mount Everest. The logistics group also sent along a data stick with 100,000 greetings from moon fans worldwide. “With this project, DHL is making it possible to forever connect significant moments on Earth with the moon,” said the company, which currently has no other lunar plans.
There is criticism of the payload of the US companies Celestis and Elysium Space, which transport the ashes of the deceased to the moon and beyond. Including Gene Roddenberry, creator of the science fiction TV series Star Trek, and writer Arthur C. Clarke. The President of the Navajo Nation, Buu Nygren, points out that the moon is a sacred place for many indigenous peoples. Dumping human remains there would desecrate the site. There is at least one reaction from Celestis boss Charles Chafer: “We are aware of the concerns expressed by Mr. Nygren, but do not consider them to be valid,” he told the news channel CNN.