MOON LANDING FACTOIDS

moon apollo lunar space nasa 1969 aldrin armstrong

The Power of Duct Tape

The moon is an incredibly hostile environment for us Earthlings, and moon dust is just one of the many risk factors. In the low-gravity environment, the rough material gets everywhere, scratching glass, clogging machinery and potentially baking astronauts alive by coating their space suits and raising their absorption of dangerous solar radiation.

So when Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan accidently snagged his hammer on the moon buggy's rear fender, far more than a little curb appeal was at stake. Without that fender, the vehicle would pitch hazardous quantities of moon dust up and shower it all over the astronauts. The buggy excursion was nearly canceled, but the crew was able to repair the fender temporarily with good old duct tape. After the tape lost its stickiness, they actually built a new fender out of yet more duct tape and a few laminated maps.

Image: The duct tape repair job on the Apollo 17 rover. Credit: NASA

Get behind the wheel of a lunar rover at HowStuffWorks.com.