Lunar rocks were stored onboard in stainless steel vacuum containers (NASA). This article is a selection from the June issue of Smithsonian magazine BuyĪrmstrong collected the fragment of fine-grained basalt pictured on the left. Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine now for just $12 “A late-July fireworks display on the Moon was not something advisable,” said Aldrin. (Gold, who correctly predicted early on that the Moon’s surface would be covered with powdery dust, also had warned NASA that the dust might be so deep that the lunar module and the astronauts themselves could sink irretrievably into it.)Īmong the thousands of things they were keeping in mind while flying to the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin had been briefed about the very small possibility that the lunar dust could ignite. If too much dust was carried inside the lunar module’s cabin, the moment the astronauts repressurized it with air and the dust came into contact with oxygen, it might start burning, or even cause an explosion.

Cornell University astrophysicist Thomas Gold warned NASA that the dust had been isolated from oxygen for so long that it might well be highly chemically reactive. Moon dust was a mystery that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration had, in fact, thought about. Never smelled lunar dirt before, but we got most of it right here with us.”

When he took off his helmet inside the cramped lunar module cabin, he said, “There’s a funny smell in here.” His Apollo 15 crewmate Dave Scott said: “Yeah, I think that’s the lunar dirt smell. Harrison Schmitt, the geologist who flew on Apollo 17, the last lunar landing, said after his second Moonwalk, “Smells like someone’s been firing a carbine in here.” Almost unaccountably, no one had warned lunar module pilot Jim Irwin about the dust. Each pair of Apollo astronauts to land on the Moon tramped lots of Moon dust back into the lunar module-it was deep gray, fine-grained and extremely clingy-and when they unsnapped their helmets, Neil Armstrong said, “We were aware of a new scent in the air of the cabin that clearly came from all the lunar material that had accumulated on and in our clothes.” To him, it was “the scent of wet ashes.” To his Apollo 11 crewmate Buzz Aldrin, it was “the smell in the air after a firecracker has gone off.”Īll the astronauts who walked on the Moon noticed it, and many commented on it to Mission Control. Mental Age Test What Career Should You Have? (“What Job Should I Have”) Vocational Personality Radar Test (Personality Type Test) Left Brain Right Brain Test Which Game Of Thrones House Are You From? BDSM Test: “Sadomasochism Tendency Test” When Will I Die? - Death Calculator Where on earth should I live? (“where should i live”) Harry Potter House Quiz - 2023 UPDATED with statistical reports Draw Something To Discover Your Mental Age CPS Test / CPS Tester - Check Your CPS with Clicks Tracking Chart Typing Test » Error and Statistical Reports Now Available! Rice Purity Test - Statistical Reports updated to 2023 Gay Test - Am I Gay, Straight, or Bisexual? Take this quiz to find out now! Do I Like Him Quiz - Take this quiz to know do you have a crush on him the IQ Test 2021 (New Certificate for 2021) BMI Calculator - Interactive BMI Chart, the BMI test you must take in 2023 Ultimate Comprehensive Indonesia Trivia Quiz Aesthetic Quiz - What is my aesthetic? Elementary School General Knowledge Test - 98% of adults FAILED to pass this.The Moon has a smell.

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