crewed Moon landings, 1969–1972
FIELD ARCHIVE / EARTH SIGNAL RECEIVED
Abandoned.
Not Forgotten.
Since the 1960s, NASA machines have rested on the Moon and Mars. Some completed their work and fell quiet; a few still send a signal. Every one changed how we see another world.
The solar system has a long memory ↓
LIVE FEED / LUNAR SURFACE RECEIVING
00 / DEFINITION CHECK
First, a plot twist:
nothing here was thrown away.
When a mission ends, its machines usually stay where they are. A rover cannot turn around and drive home. A lander has no fuel for the climb back into space. And every kilogram brought to Earth asks for more rocket to carry it there.
So "abandoned" does not mean "littered." It means the work is done and the machine has found its last resting place.
But "not forgotten" is just as true. Old rovers taught us to build new ones. Their data still has stories to tell. Some machines still work, and orbiting cameras keep watch over those that have gone quiet.
Four ways a mission can endSTATUS KEY / 04
Still working
ACTIVESome machines keep answering for decades.
Mission complete
PARKEDThe work is done. The power fades, and the machine grows quiet.
Crashed on purpose
IMPACTA final, planned impact can become one last experiment.
Lost
NO SIGNALSometimes the signal simply disappears.
01 / SCALE OF THE STORY
By the numbers
people have walked on the Moon
electric Moon buggies still parked there
(842 lb) of Moon rocks brought back to Earth
NASA landing missions on Mars so far
of them still working today (Curiosity and Perseverance)
flights by a helicopter on another world (Ingenuity)
(28 miles): distance driven by the rover Opportunity, more than a marathon
02 / A HISTORY OF HARDWARE
Timeline of the left-behind.
A long signal across
two neighboring worlds.
From the first lunar landing to the journeys still unfolding ↔
FOLLOW THE TRAIL / 01—05
One world leads
to another.
Begin with the footprints on the Moon. Follow the machines to Mars, then see what their journeys taught us.