I’ve always been fascinated with the moon and the space program, especially Apollo. NASA has a set of articles on their website called Apollo Chronicles, revisiting some of the best Apollo tales which have faded with time from peoples memories. I have found them all really interesting, because I have not read about them in any of the books I have on the space program or the moon.
Dark Shadows talks about why the shadows on the moon are not like the shadows on Earth. Because the shadows are much darker than they are on Earth, it caused some problems for the astronauts. I never realized that we used shadows on earth as visual perception clues. Change the shadow, and it changes the way we perceive the object.
Jack Skis the Moon talks about how lunar dust reminded all the astronauts of snow, except that its far more abrasive than snow.
The Mysterious Smell of Moondust talks about how the moondust smelled to the astronauts like bunt gun powder, and why that might be (they don’t have an explanation for it yet). One astronaut thinks it might be like why the desert, which doesn’t really have a particular smell of its own, smells sweet and peaty after it rains. Having lived in the desert, I have to take exception to this description. The desert does not smell sweet after it rains. It smells like urine, and is really unpleasant. However, I know many people who would disagree with me.
All in all, I found the articles a very interesting read.
