Why did astronauts leave poop on the moon, and what can we learn from it?

2024-01-21 19:30:22

In six expeditions to the moon, humans have left behind all kinds of waste, including equipment, a now-legendary flag… and 96 bags containing feces, vomit and urine. This fact raises several key questions regarding space missions in the past and in the future.

50 years ago, leaving objects behind was a necessity to enable astronauts to return to Earth, at the risk of polluting previously untouched space. But today, modern technologies make it easier for expeditions to leave nothing behind.

Behind the environmental impact of this waste lies deeper scientific questions. What has happened to the bacteria in those bags? What is the survival capacity of microorganisms in this hostile environment? And, if we pollute space with living organisms, how can we be sure that, if we ever find life there, we weren’t the ones who brought it in the first place?

In this three-minute video, The world explores the questions posed by these bags of biological waste and why studying them is of scientific interest.

This video is presented in partnership with Toulouse’s Cité de l’Espace, for the launch of the new LuneXplorer space experience.

Laetitia Limmois, Olivier Escher(motion design) and Diana Liu

Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.

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