Leave only moonprints: Nasa’s lunar recycling ambitions

When astronauts land on the Moon again as part of the Artemis project, they will have to build a place to live in. Nasa wants them to build as much of it they can from used materials.

When the first men landed on the Moon in 1969, sustainability was the least of their concerns. To save weight before they headed home the Apollo astronauts tossed anything they didn’t need out of the door of the lunar lander, leaving the landing sites littered with debris.
Nasa’s official tally of what the 12 Moonwalkers left behind includes 96 bags of urine, faeces and vomit, as well as boots and life support systems. The astronauts discarded three lunar rovers, assorted experiments and cameras, six flags, a family photo, a feather and two golf balls – hit “miles and miles” by Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard. The list also includes one hundred $2 bills (£1.58) – rare enough on Earth but now arguably the most valuable Earth currency in the Universe. Don’t trade your Bitcoin in just yet, though, as the ink on the banknotes may have faded to nothing in the harsh UV rays of the Sun.
“There’s no erosion, there are no dust storms that will cover them up or hide them,” says Chris Impey, a professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona and an expert on space junk. “They are there forever.”
For historic missions like Apollo that is not really a problem. Neil Armstrong’s first footsteps on the lunar surface mark arguably one of the greatest achievements of humanity and the challenge for the US will be to preserve the landing sites in their original state – from footsteps and Moon buggies, to golf balls and excrement bags.