[credit provider=”Johan Clausen “]
40 years ago today, Dec. 7, 1972, the astronauts of the Apollo 17 mission became the last people to launch into space and land on the Moon three days later.Even though we haven’t sent any astronauts to the Moon since Apollo 17, the Earth’s only natural satellite is still revealing tons of new information.
NASA’s recent mission to map the Moon’s gravity field, for example, found hidden volcanoes on the Moon.
That’s not the only recent Moon finding or interesting fact — here are some you may have missed.
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permalink=”eugene-shoemaker-is-the-first-person-to-be-buried-on-the-moon-1″
title=”Eugene Shoemaker is the first person to be buried on the Moon.”
content=”Along with the launch of NASA’s Lunar Prospector on Jan. 6, 1998 the ashes of Eugene Shoemaker came along for the ride and became the first person to be put to rest on the Moon.
Shoemaker was a geologist and astronomer who worked on several U.S. space missions and discovered about 20 comets and 800 asteroids along with his wife. He longed to be an astronaut, but was rejected because of medical problems.
A polycarbonate vial carrying an ounce on Shoemaker’s ashes slammed into a moon crater burying him in the place he so badly wanted to go.”
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title=”Moon dust is toxic to humans.”
content=”According to research particles of Moon dust are so small and jagged that if they get into the lungs it is likely that moon dust would cause airway inflammation, at best.
Researchers think moon dust is even more dangerous and cancerous to humans than regular dust because it has been exposed to the harsh radiation in space.”
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title=”A survey in 1988 found that 13 per cent of people think the moon is really made out of cheese.”
content=”According to a report by the Lowel Observatory, 13 per cent of people really thought the moon was made of cheese.
Maybe because of the craters they thought it was a huge chunk of Swiss cheese.”
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[slide
permalink=”apollo-17-commander-left-his-camera-on-the-lunar-surface-4″
title=”Apollo 17 commander left his camera on the lunar surface.”
content=”Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan was so sure humans would continue their lunar travels that he left his camera up there, thinking one day someone would return to the moon, grab the camera, and the glass deteriorated would tell scientists about solar radiation.”
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permalink=”theres-astronaut-poop-up-there-too-5″
title=”There’s astronaut poop up there, too.”
content=”Cernan’s camera is just one piece of the junk humans have left on the Moon, which weighs about 200 tons. Some of the other junk is just garbage, including astronaut poop, commemorative plaques, and dead lunar rovers, but other remains are actually useful.
NASA uses mirrors left on the moon to measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon.”
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[slide
permalink=”the-moon-is-not-round-6″
title=”The Moon is not round.”
content=”The moon is actually shaped like an egg with the large end pointed toward Earth.”
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[slide
permalink=”richard-nixon-prepared-a-speech-in-case-the-mission-to-the-moon-was-a-failure-7″
title=”Richard Nixon prepared a speech in case the mission to the Moon was a failure.”
content=”Luckily Apollo 11 was a success and Nixon never had to read the speech he had prepared if it was a tragic failure. Below is an excerpt from the moving speech, the complete transcript can be read on The Daily.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.”
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permalink=”the-american-flags-left-on-the-moon-are-completely-white-8″
title=”The American flags left on the Moon are completely white.”
content=”Recent data showed that the American flags are still standing on the moon. One issue? They are probably blank.
The red and blue colours of the Nylon flags that lunar astronauts left on the surface of the Moon 43 years ago have been bleached out by radiation from the sun.”
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permalink=”the-moons-gravity-can-affect-planes-9″
title=”The Moon’s gravity can affect planes.”
content=”The instruments on an aircraft can be so precise that they can get thrown out of alignment by the Moon’s gravity.
Although probably not caused by the Moon, there are also mysterious gravity waves that cause turbulence on clear days.”
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[slide
permalink=”if-you-missed-the-last-blue-moon-you-wont-see-one-until-2015-10″
title=”If you missed the last Blue Moon you won’t see one until 2015.”
content=”Blue Moons happens when there are four full moons in a season instead of the usual three. This happens because the lunar cycle doesn’t fit perfectly with our calendar.
If you missed the last Blue Moon on August 31, 2012, you won’t be able to see on until 2015.”
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permalink=”the-us-planned-the-blow-up-the-moon-11″
title=”The U.S. planned the blow up the Moon.”
content=”During the cold war era, the U.S. had plans to set off a nuclear bomb on the moon to intimidate the Soviets.”
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permalink=”the-moon-is-moving-further-away-every-year-12″
title=”The Moon is moving further away every year.”
content=”The Moon moves further away from the Earth at the rate of 1.48 inches per year.
If it moves far enough away, full solar eclipses would be impossible and eventually the Earth’s orbit could become unstable.”
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[slide
permalink=”the-moon-was-formed-when-a-mars-sized-body-hit-the-earth-13″
title=”The Moon was formed when a Mars-sized body hit the Earth.”
content=”The giant impact of a Mars-sized planet and Earth is what formed the Moon, our only natural satellite.
The impacting planet collided with Earth and the mantles of both planets shot out in the space around the Earth. Over time the debris gathered together, giving us our moon.”
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permalink=”there-is-lots-of-water-on-that-there-moon-14″
title=”There is lots of water on that there Moon.”
content=”NASA found water on the Moon in 2009 and in 2012 they announced that it could be a lot more common than previously thought.
In some areas that are permanently under shadow, there could be up to 2 per cent water frost in the soil.”
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[slide
permalink=”low-gravity-on-the-moon-looks-fun-but-is-actually-really-annoying-astronauts-say-15″
title=”Low gravity on the moon looks fun, but is actually really annoying, astronauts say.”
content=”The space suits worn by the astronauts weighed 180 pounds, but only 30 pounds on the Moon.
Even with their own body weight and pounds of equipment, they still had trouble walking on the Moon because they were so light. The astronauts describe the difficulty of walking saying they had to be careful of where their centre of mass was to make sure their feet were still underneath them.
They ended up having to bunny-walk or horsey dance to get around.”
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permalink=”no-women-have-ever-walked-on-the-moon-16″
title=”No women have ever walked on the moon.”
content=”The Apollo mission have successfully sent 12 people to the Moon including:
- Apollo 11 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
- Apollo 12 Pete Conrad and Alan Bean
- Apollo 14 Alan B. Shepard and Edgar Mitchell
- Apollo 15 David Scott and James Irwin
- Apollo 16 John Young and Charles Duke
- Apollo 17 Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt
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permalink=”we-only-see-one-side-of-the-moon-but-it-does-rotate-17″
title=”We only see one side of the Moon, but it does rotate.”
content=”We only see one side of the moon. That’s because the gravitational pull of the Earth has slowed down the Moon’s rotation so much that it matches our planet’s orbit of 29.5 days.
If the moon did not rotate at all we would eventually see the far side.”
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permalink=”neil-armstrong-got-his-own-classic-line-wrong-18″
title=”Neil Armstrong got his own classic line wrong.”
content=”The famous words everyone heard Neil Armstrong say was, ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,’ but he actually meant to say ‘for a man’.
Armstrong claimed the ‘a’ had been unheard because of technical difficulties, but after hearing the recording he admitted he forgot to say the ‘a.'”
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[slide
permalink=”the-moon-experiences-moonquakes-19″
title=”The Moon experiences moonquakes.”
content=”Apollo astronauts placed seismometers on the Moon that measure the movements of the ground. The data indicated that there are several types of moonquakes including ones from the impact of meteors, the expansion of ice, and tides from the Earth’s gravity pulling on the Moon about 450 miles under the surface.”
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permalink=”the-moon-made-superstorm-sandy-more-disastrous-20″
title=”The Moon made Superstorm Sandy more disastrous.”
content=”The gravitational pull of the Moon pulls the water in the oceans toward it. The Moon creates a water bulge on the Earth and is the reason for the tides.
Full moons make the tide even bigger, and the full moon on Oct. 29 contributed to Superstorm Sandy’s record-setting storm surge in New York and New Jersey.”
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permalink=”the-moon-does-not-make-people-crazy-21″
title=”The Moon does not make people crazy.”
content=”Popular myths say the moon makes people crazy, even the word ‘lunatic’ with ‘Luna’ meaning moon suggest the moon makes people crazy.
A 1996 study on 150,000 emergency rooms showed that full moons did not mean more craziness, or more hospital visits, which researchers use as evidence proving that the full moon doesn’t make people crazy.”
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[slide
permalink=”the-moons-not-the-only-thing-weve-been-exploring-22″
title=”The Moon’s not the only thing we’ve been exploring.”
content=”The OTHER Mars Rover Is Still Sending Back Awesome Images >“
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[/slideshow]
