A couple of abandoned things in space

General Things

Among the earliest objects left in space was an astronaut's glove. Ed White, an American spacewalker, lost his glove during the 1965 Gemini 4 flight. Regrettably, the glove is no longer in existence, as it spent about a month in space before burning up upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

Not all items on our space debris list, however, were accidental losses; some were intentionally discarded. Occasionally, NASA deems certain cargo too heavy to bring back to Earth, leading to deliberate disposal in space.

In 2007, for instance, a 635-kilogram tank of ammonia was intentionally thrown overboard from a space station. This ammonia had served as part of the cooling system, but with the upgrade of the air conditioning, it became obsolete. Approximately a year after being jettisoned, the tank burned up as it descended towards the South Pacific Ocean.

The bags...

Did you know that there are 96 bags containing human waste left on the moon from the Apollo Moon missions in the 1960s?

After gathering lunar rocks for their return to Earth, the astronauts decided to leave these bags on the moon to reduce their cargo weight. For over six decades, these bags have been sitting in the lunar dust. Recently, astrobiologists have contemplated the idea of bringing the feces back to Earth for study. They are particularly interested in examining the bacteria to see if it has undergone any unusual evolution due to the higher levels of radiation the moon receives.

One of the most bizarre items include golf balls.

In a 1971 mission to the moon, astronaut Alan Shepard managed to bring the head of a six iron and a few golf balls on board.

Creating a makeshift golf club by attaching the head to the shaft of a rock-collecting tool, Shepard went on to hit a couple of balls, claiming they traveled a few hundred meters. Rather than retrieving them, he left the golf balls on the moon, adding to the eccentric collection of items left behind in space.

Golden Record

In 1977, when Voyager 1 and 2 were launched, a unique item was included on board. Carl Sagan and his team curated a 30-centimeter golden LP record for each spacecraft. The record, equipped with instructions on how to play it, served as a representation of Earth and humanity, designed for potential discovery by extraterrestrial beings.

It featured 115 images, greetings in 55 languages, and a 90-minute mixtape encompassing music from various cultures and historical periods. As of now, the Voyager probes continue their journey, and it remains uncertain whether anyone or anything has encountered these records.

A bit of art

Before the Apollo 12 mission, sculptor Forrest Myers conceived the idea of bringing a piece of art to the Moon. His plan involved using a small ceramic wafer on which six artists, including Andy Warhol, would sketch.

Despite being unable to persuade an astronaut to take the artwork on board, Myers successfully convinced an engineer working on Apollo 12 to carry out the task. The engineer discreetly placed the ceramic wafer beneath the gold blanket on the bottom half of the mission module, which ultimately crashed on the Moon.

It's worth noting that NASA has never officially confirmed this account, but Myers maintains that it is true.

The fallen ones...

Confirmed to be on the moon is an aluminum statuette known as the Fallen Astronaut.

Positioned beside a plaque listing the names of 14 astronauts who lost their lives on previous missions, this poignant piece of art commemorates those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of space exploration.

Fun fact

There are stars we will never be able to see!