Between 1969 and 1972, twelve astronauts successfully landed on the Moon and returned to Earth, bringing back with them lunar samples and scientific data, and, perhaps most importantly, a new understanding of what it meant to be human. But what did they leave behind? In addition to their footprints, long-term scientific experiments such as the Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), and discarded equipment such as the lunar rover, some astronauts left a more unique mark on the Moon. Learn about some of things we left behind on the Moon below.
One of the most well-known and notable items was left behind by the first people on the Moon: the Apollo 11 astronauts. The Apollo 11 goodwill disk was a silicon disc, which, in exceedingly tiny type, displays goodwill messages from world leaders. The creation and placement of this marker on the Moon symbolized that Apollo 11 was not just an American success, but an achievement for all humanity.
The size of a US Mint 50-cent piece, the disc carried messages from Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon as well as messages of goodwill from leaders of 73 countries around the world. Among the different messages, some expressed reverence for progress and the increase of knowledge:
"On behalf of the British people I salute the skill and courage which have brought man to the moon. May this endeavor increase the knowledge and well-being of mankind." Elizabeth R.*
Others, such as Canada, looked more inward, calling for world peace in the name of humankind's greatest achievement:
"Man has reached out and touched the tranquil moon. Puisse ce haut fait permettre a l'homme de redecouvrir la terre et d'y trouver la paix. (May that high accomplishment allow man to rediscover the Earth and find peace.)" Pierre Elliott-Trudeau, Prime Minister
Vietnam's message spoke to the petty quarrels on Earth in the context of the wider universe:
"...This memorable feat should bring to mankind both a sense of pride and humility: pride, because human beings by their intelligence and perseverance are now able to get beyond this earth to which they seemed to be bound; humility, because the quarrels which divide men on the earth look so petty in the context of our vast universe.
In this historical event, we prayerfully hope that the ingenuity and intelligence which God endows to men will lead toward increasing progress and brotherhood, and the widening of human horizon. We are, therefore, very happy that the first message deposited by the brave American astronauts of Apollo 11 on the moon is a message of peace for all mankind, and from all mankind, in which the Vietnamese people fully concur. " H.E. Nguyen Van Thieu, President of Vietnam
Other mementos left behind on the moon were more improvised. In 1971, during the Apollo 14 mission, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard carried a golf club—a modified Wilson six iron—in his spacesuit pocket, attaching the club head to the handle of a contingency sample return device. He then proceeded to smack two golf balls on the lunar surface, which are still there today.
During the Apollo 16 mission, astronaut Charles Duke brought an even more personal memento to be left behind on the Moon—a photograph of him and his family. Featuring his wife Dotty, his two sons Charles and Tom, and himself, the photo was framed and signed by Duke, and tucked in a plastic sleeve.
What would you leave behind on the Moon to memorialize your journey?
*Elizabeth Regina. Queen Elizabeth in Latin, which is Queen Elizabeth II's formal signature.