Science Friday - Art on the Moon?

Did you know that there is only a single piece of art on the moon?  It's an aluminum sculpture of an astronaut in a space suit. 

The Plaque that accompanies the sculpture is pretty amazing.  At the height of the Cold War, during the space race, the plaque contains fourteen names - 8 American and 6 Soviet - of astronauts who died during missions or training up to 1971.  The following is copied from the wiki entry:

• Theodore Freeman (October 31, 1964, aircraft accident)
• Charles Bassett (February 28, 1966, aircraft accident)
• Elliott See (February 28, 1966, aircraft accident)
• Gus Grissom (January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
• Roger Chaffee (January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
• Edward White (January 27, 1967, Apollo 1 fire)
• Vladimir Komarov (April 24, 1967, re-entry parachute failure)
• Edward Givens (June 6, 1967 automobile accident)
• Clifton Williams (October 5, 1967, aircraft accident)
• Yuri Gagarin (March 27, 1968, aircraft accident)
• Pavel Belyayev (January 10, 1970, disease)
• Georgi Dobrovolski (June 30, 1971, re-entry pressurization failure)
• Viktor Patsayev (June 30, 1971, re-entry pressurization failure)
• Vladislav Volkov (June 30, 1971, re-entry pressurization failure)

I know I've heard about this sculpture and plaque before, but it took until now for the significance to sink in. 

- rick, a bit slow

After the jump is an interesting image of water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico.  Take a look and tell me if you see in this image that which I see in the image.

 

 

Comments

[a rose is a rose]

i had never heard of the plaque or the figure

[buckhntr]

I'll drink to that

[Cherise]

I never knew there was art or the plaque on the moon... Very cool! As to the 2nd image...LOL, and you are a pervert!! ;)

[mark]

yah, knew about the plaque and sculpture...we also left a golf ball up there.

[Mai (Harinder Kaur)]

My turbaned self just had to drop by and see who you really are. Perhaps spmeday your ninja and I the Khalsa will meet in honourable combat. Who knows.

[CV Rick]

Feel free to hang around, it's actually very nice here. I'm just not too partial to religious expressions as a protected class . . . other than that, I'm not too hard to get along with.

[Cele]

I have stared at this picture for 10 minutes. Ducky stared at the picture (he thought an embro) then I stared some more and crossed my eyes. I love those mind games where you can see two things. But I only see is the alien from the Abyss.

I didn't know about the plaque or the sculpture. But the golf ball I knew about. Isn't there a lunar rover still up there too? Somewhere I heard that all the litter the astronauts have left up there is causing concerns in some circles.

So what do you see Rick?

[Renegade Eye]

I saw a face, paralel to the left leg.

[CV Rick]

well, to me it looked like one of those diagrams from health class in Junior High, showing how a man and woman copulate .. .

but I have a dirty mind.

[Reg]

Yep. Big Orange Dick.