Feces, Legos, golf balls… humans have left a lot of stuff in space

Since the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957, humans have continued to send missions into space, with a host of objects, not all of which are space objects. During these seven decades, as I highlighted Science and life This Thursday, space explorers left behind a fair amount of trash and other artifacts.

He explained that NASA asked the astronauts to leave things on the moon to reduce weight on the return trip Discover Magazine Jennifer Ross Naza, historian of human spaceflight. They couldn't bring it all back.” First, the poop. During the six Apollo lunar missions, the astronauts filled 96 bags of poop during their “EVA outings.” They left it behind, along with other trash, including five American flags and two hammocks , and equipment no longer needed.

Collaboration between LEGO and NASA

For eight years, three aluminum statues orbited Jupiter. They, depicting the Roman god of the same name, his wife Juno and the Italian astronomer Galileo, were sent aboard the Juno space probe, which began orbiting the largest planet in the solar system in July 2016. Then a partnership was signed between NASA and the Lego company. In 2025, the three statues will cease to exist as they will be intentionally immersed in the gas giant's atmosphere.

Other relics of human spacewalking include the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who was sent into space on a lunar mission along with a piece of Mount Everest and a physical Bitcoin. Also noteworthy are golf balls dating back to the 1971 lunar mission and a spoon used by an astronaut for cooking repairs aboard the Discovery spacecraft.