Qualla: Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: Introduction

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 08maxwell, CC BY-SA 4.0. The moonscape was man-made and meteor-made both. Greater Sudbury sits in the Sudbury Basin, a 1.8-billion-year-old meteor impact crater that deposited the richest concentration of nickel ore on Earth. A century of mining and smelting stripped the landscape bare, created massive slag heaps, and left the hills so denuded that NASA sent Apollo astronauts here to practice lunar geology. The astronauts who walked on the moon trained in Sudbury first. Since the 1970s, environmental restoration has regreened the region, planting millions of trees, neutralizing acid, reclaiming what industry destroyed. The moonscape is mostly gone; the recovery is ongoing. Sudbury became famous for destruction and is becoming famous for restoration.

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Image: 08maxwell | CC BY-SA 4.0

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: The Crater

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mysudbury.ca Ouisudbury.ca, CC BY 2.0. The Sudbury Basin formed 1.85 billion years ago when a meteorite 10-15 km in diameter struck what is now northern Ontario. The impact was one of the largest ever to hit Earth, creating a crater originally 250 km wide and depositing metals from the impactor's core into the crater ...

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Image: Mysudbury.ca Ouisudbury.ca | CC BY 2.0

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: The Destruction

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ybeer at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Mining began in the 1880s and intensified through the 20th century. Smelting operations released sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere; acid rain killed vegetation for miles around. Open roasting of ore created toxic fumes that stripped hillsides bare. By the 1970s, Sudbury's landsc...

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Image: Ybeer at English Wikipedia | Public domain

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: The Astronauts

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0. NASA geologists recognized Sudbury's value: the impact crater provided structures similar to lunar craters, and the barren landscape resembled the moon's surface. Apollo astronauts trained here in the late 1960s and early 1970s, practicing geological sampling techniques, learning...

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Image: Andre Carrotflower | CC BY-SA 4.0

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: The Recovery

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. Sudbury's environmental restoration began in 1978 with liming and seeding programs. Over four decades, the region planted 10 million trees, neutralized thousands of hectares of acid-damaged soil, and watched ecosystems slowly recover. The program became a model for post-industria...

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Image: Public domain

Sudbury: Where NASA Trained for the Moon: Visiting Sudbury

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Marcoplo78, CC BY-SA 3.0. Greater Sudbury is located in northeastern Ontario, roughly 400 km north of Toronto via Highway 400 and Highway 69. The Big Nickel, a 9-meter replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel, marks Dynamic Earth, a science center focused on mining and geology. Science North, Northern Ontario's ...

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Image: Marcoplo78 | CC BY-SA 3.0