Today, Explained Holy shit
Jul 19, 2019
Brian Resnick, a Senior Science Reporter at Vox, unpacks the fascinating legacy of the Moon landings on their 50th anniversary. He discusses how astronauts unintentionally left behind human waste that may hold clues about the origins of life. The conversation dives into the Artemis mission and its ambitious goals for lunar outposts, as well as exploring the unusual link between creation myths and feces across cultures. This insightful dialogue challenges listeners to rethink the role of waste in both life and creativity.
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Bags of Waste on the Moon
- Astronauts left 96 bags of human waste on the moon during the Apollo missions.
- This was done to save weight for the return journey, allowing them to bring back more moon rocks and soil samples.
Unintended Experiment
- The waste left on the moon became an unintended experiment about life's resilience.
- The bacteria in the waste could offer insights into life's origins and ability to survive in harsh environments.
Panspermia
- Panspermia is the idea that life originated elsewhere and traveled to Earth.
- Studying the moon's waste could support this theory if the bacteria survived.