apollo 11

Moon dust gathered by Neil Armstrong discovered in warehouse after 40 years

Several miscellaneous bits and pieces of the first moon mission have orbited back into our field of view lately.

In March, it was pieces of the rocket that propelled Apollo 11 spaceward, kindly dragged from their watery grave by Amazon CEO and space enthusiast Jeff Bezos.

And more recently, the auction block played host to Buzz Aldrin's space jammies, as well as Neil Armstrong's jumpin' heartbeat as he first set foot on the lunar surface.

Now, thanks to Karen Nelson, a tidy archivist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about 20 forgotten vials of moon dust collected by Armstrong and Aldrin have been rescued from a grave of their own: a warehouse at the Berkeley lab, where they'd sat quietly gathering, um, Earth dust for the last 40 years or so.… Read more

Crave Ep. 120: Be careful where you leave your DNA

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An artist combs public places for gum, hair, and cigarette butts, and then 3D-prints portraits of the unsuspecting people who've left their DNA behind. Plus, we take a look at a laser-powered flashlight, and get our heads chopped off in an app for the Oculus Rift head-mounted display. … Read more

Neil Armstrong's moon walk EKG reading up for auction

We've all seen the video of man's first step on the moon. NASA's medical team back down on Earth saw that first step in a slightly different light, in the form of Armstrong's electrocardiogram reading from the moment he set his foot down. That little 6-inch strip is going up for online auction at RR Auction.

The strip comes in a presentation frame along with an Armstrong autopen signature and various mission patches. "After the landing, this EKG report was saved by the Manager of Medical Administration for the Space Center. It was cut up into five pieces; four were presented to the attending physicians on the medical team," reads the description.… Read more

Bezos Expeditions recovers pieces of Apollo 11 rockets

A year after discovering rockets from the Apollo 11 moon mission on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Bezos Expeditions has recovered "many prime pieces" of the engines, Jeff Bezos blogged today.

Amazon's billionaire founder and chief executive wrote that the crew of the ship Seabed Worker spent three weeks at sea, working almost three miles below the surface to pull up the various piece of the engines.

"We've seen an underwater wonderland -- an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end, one that serves … Read more

Armstrong remembered for quiet dignity after 'giant leap'

Neil Armstrong, the unassuming test pilot, family man, and reluctant hero who will forever walk in history as the first man on the moon, was honored at the Washington National Cathedral today. He was remembered as much for the quiet dignity he brought to his role as an enduring American icon as he was for his "giant leap for mankind" 43 years ago.

As family members and Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, looked on, Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, summed up the … Read more

The speech Nixon had prepped for an Apollo 11 disaster

One historical tidbit worth another look in the aftermath of astronaut Neil Armstrong' death on Saturday at the age of 82: The text of the speech President Richard Nixon had his staff prepare in the event of a disaster befalling Armstrong's Apollo 11 mission. The speech, dug up by The Daily, was written by then-Nixon speechwriter William Safire, who later became a columnist for the New York Times. Happily, his boss never had to give that address.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest … Read more

Luxury watchmaker turns hand toward retro games

A gentleman's timepiece should never be too exuberant, but Crave feels compelled to give a curious nod to the ultra-expensive Pac-Man and Space Invaders watches by Swiss timepiece crafter RJ-Romain Jerome. Each dial features a miniature replica design of the arcade classics set in a pixelated appearance.

Perhaps understated from first glance, these geeky watches (waterproof to 98 feet) with rubber straps contain some real stellar inspirations. For starters, each steel timepiece features real fragments of the Apollo 11 lunar module, and the designer took it a step further by modeling the four joints of the watch after lunar landing module legs. To top off the extravagance, the back of the watches contain low-oxidation silver mixed with real moon rocks, specially patterned like the lunar surface. … Read more

Keep on rockin' in the free version

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Spotify extends free, unlimited trial Bump Pay transfers money Free Photoshop CS6 preview Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China Kindle Fire update Amazon CEO found rockets from Apollo 11 Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Amazon's Bezos to raise Apollo rockets from watery grave

Not to be outdone by "Titanic" director James Cameron, Amazon's Jeff Bezos has just announced that after searching the seafloor, he's located the rockets that thrust Neil Armstrong toward the moon more than 40 years ago and plans to bring them back onto dry land.

Writing on his "Bezos Expeditions" blog today, the e-commerce guru and would-be space explorer said his team had located the five F-1 rockets that lifted the Apollo 11 mission spaceward and then plunged into the Atlantic.… Read more

Dishing up a moon landing from Down Under

As the four stamps in my passport can attest, Australia is my travel destination of choice.

The only problem is that with such an immense place, even a two-week trip will show you only a corner of the country. So when an Aussie friend suggested that during a recent visit, I take a road trip to the small town where he was born, I jumped at the chance. And when I learned that the town was Parkes, I got even more excited. … Read more