Counting Down to Apollo

One American's account of watching humanity reach the Moon

Tag: what-they-found

The Orange Soil
Apollo 17 December 12, 1972

The Orange Soil

Harrison Schmitt was on his second EVA when he looked down and said "There's orange soil!" It was a startling discovery — color on the Moon, in a landscape of gray. Volcanic activity? Recent geology? The scientists are excited. Even after twelve missions, the Moon is still surprising us.
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The Genesis Rock
Apollo 15 August 1, 1971

The Genesis Rock

Dave Scott and Jim Irwin may have found the most important rock ever collected — an anorthosite fragment they're calling the Genesis Rock, estimated to be 4 billion years old. It's a piece of the original lunar crust, from when the Moon was still forming. I've been a space program…
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Driving on the Moon
Apollo 15 July 31, 1971

Driving on the Moon

Dave Scott drove the Lunar Rover on the Moon today and the television camera on the rover broadcast it live. I watched the Moon scroll past — the mountains, the craters, the edge of Hadley Rille — from my living room. Scott's voice narrating the drive. I will never get…
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