Lunar Leftovers: How the Moon Became a Trash Can

We normally associate space itself as being littered with the detritus of our nascent attempts at interstellar travel.  The moon, however, is chock full of the remains of our various attempts to explore it.  So, what exactly is up there?  Moreover, does any of the stuff on the moon still work or is it just one giant cosmic trash can?

If HG Wells and others were correct and there were civilizations on the moon then they would have expelled a communal gasp of horror in 1959 when the first piece of man made technology hit the moon dust. Looking now like some steam punk version of what we regularly send spinning in to space, Luna 2 was launched by the Soviets when the Cold War was at its height. The collision with the moon at least proved on thing – that our nearest neighbor in space has no appreciable magnetic field. To add insult to injury, half an hour after Luna 2 hit the moon, so did the third stage of its rocket.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.