the SNECMA Coléoptère (“beetle”), circa 1959 (via and via)
“On April 23, 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke and John Young embarked on the third and final EVA of the mission, exploring the Descartes Highlands via Lunar Roving Vehicle. During the EVA, before setting up a Solar Wind Collector, Duke placed a small family photo he had brought along onto the lunar surface and snapped a few photos of it with his Hasselblad film camera.
“This is one of the photos. The portrait shows Charlie, his wife Dorothy, and their two sons Charles and Thomas. It looks like they are sitting on a bench in the summertime. The family photo, gingerly wrapped in clear plastic and slightly crumpled from being stashed in the pocket of a space suit, was left on the Moon. It presumably still sits there today, just inches away from Charlie’s boot print — which, presumably, is also there.”
Universe Today
Tests at ILC’s laboratories into the flexibility of various forms of space suit. (animgif: me)
(via mudwerks)
Chris Hadfield (Twitter @Cmdr_Hadfield) 8 May
Same land, different politics. The US - Mexican border, seen from space.
