New NASA Photos Show Footprints on the Moon

By Paul Adams

Footprints on the Moon NASA/LRO

In new photographs taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we can see the landing sites of some lunar craft, as well as the tracks left by those who flew in them. What creatures left these prints? A semi-dormant species known as the Earth astronaut; to be precise, Alan Bean and Pete Conrad, the crew of the Apollo 12 mission in 1969.

The windless moon preserves tracks in dust pretty nicely. In addition to this Apollo 12 shot (click to see it with labels), NASA has released images of the Apollo 14 and Apollo 17 landing sites.

[NASA]