METALS MAKE SPACE HISTORY: METALS ON THE MOON

In the 19th century, metals on Earth helped humanity reach the moon. Apollo 11, a spacecraft launched by NASA, brought Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. to the moon on July 20, 1969 (1). The mission marked the first time a person stepped foot on another celestial body (2).

A tough mission needed tough metal. The Apollo 11’s command module, Columbia, was primarily built from aluminum alloy, stainless steel and titanium- engineered to handle the extreme (3). Metal is everywhere… this was metal for the moon.

The astronauts recorded the landing with photographs and video, also televising it to Earth (4). Some cameras used on the mission operated from the power of nickel batteries (5).

When you recycle your leftover scrap metal, you give it another life. Metal is ‘nature’s shapeshifter,’ limitless in form and purposes. Let the possibilities for your metal be endless. Think about what your metal could do when you recycle your metal at a BN location today.


SOURCES

1. Loff, Sarah A. "Apollo 11 Mission Overview." NASA, April 17, 2015. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059A.

2. Nijenbrinks, Gerard. "Hasselblad, the First Camera Worn on the Moon." Fratello. December 24, 2019. https://www.fratellowatches.com/hasselblad-the-first-camera-worn-on-the-moon/#gref.

3. "Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia." National Air and Space Museum, https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/command-module-apollo-11/nasm_A19700102000.

4. "Apollo 11 Mission Overview." NASA, April 17, 2015. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/apollo-11-mission-overview/.

5. Anderson, A T., C K. Michlovitz, and K Hug. 1970. Apollo 11 Lunar Photography. NASA. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19720010768/downloads/19720010768.pdf.