11
$\begingroup$

Wikipedia's article on Apollo 11 indicates that this first mission left behind a flag, an Apollo 1 mission patch, a plaque (on the lander), and a bag with a gold olive branch and a message disk.

Over all the Apollo missions, what memorial items were left on the lunar surface?

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ This is probably answerable just by skimming the Wikipedia articles. Anyone with decent tagging skill may add appropriate tags. $\endgroup$
    – user56
    Commented Oct 23, 2013 at 1:02

1 Answer 1

7
$\begingroup$

According to the NASA's history office's document Catalogue of Manmade Material on the Moon (Apollo materials are on the 2nd page), produced as a

resource offers a comprehensive catalogue of human artefacts on the Moon based on the currently available data.

As at the time of the document's publication, a lot of artefact, from the badges you mentioned, to urine collection assemblies, to a pair of tongs are on the lunar surface. According to the Lunar Legacy Project page, there are well over 100 objects ('artefacts') on the Moon from Apollo 11 alone.

Now, I know some of these objects do not seem like memorials in the traditional sense, however, consider that these objects are relics of our forays to another world, specifically

"The cultural landscape of space includes both sites and objects on and off Earth," said Beth O'Leary, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces. "It is necessary to evaluate the significance of the latter and treat them as important objects and places worthy of legitimate archaeological inquiry."

from Space Archaeologists Call for Preserving Off-Earth Artifacts (David, 2013).

$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.