Moon Traces
WE EXPLORE and then we leave our traces. Humans love to leave something that says “we were here.”
Human traces left behind on the moon: photographs, plaques, special objects.
Some ask whether robots might be enough and, if not, what might humans add to the journey. But I think humans innately bring what some would call spirit, wrapped in an intuitive curiosity.
And, listening to the astronauts this week, it seems we also enjoy leaving traces behind in the process. I see it as a primal act that pairs with exploration. Going back to our first attempts here on Earth, we’ve always been driven to do it. We don’t want to vanish into oblivion. We want others to know we existed.
On the moon, it’s unmistakable. On that barren surface, it can’t help but stand out and perhaps that’s part of the appeal. “I stood on this spot.” “We named it.”
A photo & a footprint
Honouring those who have died
Carroll Crater
A message on a disk
Traces of ourselves linger behind in many ways throughout a lifetime—footprints, fingerprints, words, photos, objects—but there’s something extraordinary about leaving them on the moon.
