We are pretty proud of the human flight to the Moon and our footprints on the lunar surface. But did you know these footprints can last a million years on the surface of the Moon? It has been decades since humans last set foot on the Moon, but its surface is still marked with the historic footprints of the 12 astronauts who walked across it Unlike on Earth, there is no erosion by wind or water on the Moon because it has no atmosphere. The Moon is geologically inactive there are no earthquakes or volcanoes. So, nothing gets washed away and nothing gets eroded.
However, the Moon is exposed to bombardment by meteorites, which change the surface. One little spacerock could easily wipe out a footprint on the moon. And since the Moon has no atmosphere, it is exposed to the solar wind, a stream of charged particles coming from the sun, and over time this acts almost like weather on Earth to scour surfaces on the moon, but the process is very, very slow.
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the rocky Moon. It was the first human footprint on the Moon. They had taken TV cameras with them. The two astronauts walked on the Moon. They picked up rocks and dirt to bring back to Earth. The astronauts had much work to do. Then, the Eagle went back to meet astronaut Collins. He was in the Command Module working.
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin visited the moon 50 years ago, they left roughly 100 objects behind, including a portion of their lunar lander, the American flag and, yes, various kinds of trash. Those objects are still there, surrounded by rugged bootprints marking humanity’s first steps on another world. But that site, called Tranquillity Base, may not be as enduring as the legacy those prints represent.
Picture Credit : Google
