Ever wonder what happened to Neil Armstrong’s famous footprint on the Moon? It’s still there, for now anyways. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) has just released its April data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite which points to a major coronal mass ejection. A coronal mass ejection is a release of plasma and mangetic particles that build up on the surface of the Sun. Coronal mass ejections are particles that are released after solar flares. As these particles travel towards Earth, they are reflected by Earth’s atmosphere and the magnetic field, essentially bouncing off Earth. Unfortunately, due to the Moon’s trajectory, these particles are set to collide with the Moon. Since the Moon has no atmosphere or magnetic field, they are predicted to collide, causing widespread disruption on the surface. Neil Armstrong’s famous footprint is not expected to last through this catastrophic event.
What will NASA do?
NASA is preparing a top priority mission to launch a small group of astronauts to the Moon to recover the famous footprint. NASA adminstrator, Jim Bridenstine, plans to launch, recover, and return the footprint before the solar storm is expected to hit.