Anna Chinn examines, and plays with, the contents of Dunedin gutters.
Heavens, I'd fear for the moon if a robot ever detected such obvious signs of life as an old glove and a ciggie on the lunar surface. The space fraternity would probably get all excited and launch invasive interplanetary investigations.
In October 2009, Nasa sent a missile into the moon. The aim was to blast a hole to create a dust plume to check for water droplets. That might have been scientifically desirable, but it was poetically repugnant.
Humankind has wondered about the moon forever. It has been associated with longing, love, womanhood, rhythm, madness, tranquillity, dance, and has been deified by many peoples. Also, life on this planet depends on Moon's pull to keep Earth's tilt.
For these reasons, I revere the moon.
I wish we would stop looking for signs of life, water, gloves or cigarettes in the lunar dust - instead leaving the moon's mysteries to remain mysterious.
