I can't recall anyone flying to the moon during Apollo, or more recently, to the ISS, wearing a goatee. So if this animationaut (I just made that up) is sporting that facial hair in an official NASA video that is a surprise. Now, I'll grant you, there is a reflection on the chin that may be creating an optical illusion but if you look close you'll see what appears to be a full set of goatee hair from under the nose, 'round the mouth and to the chin. Anyway, the first time I saw it I said to myself, "Hey, that looks like Matt Cutts!" So there.

The video is actually a brief look at the approach, landing, on-surface expeditionary activities and lift-off back on the leg to earth NASA envisions for the return to the moon using elements of the new Constellation program. The vehicles include the Orion command module (though it is now called the crew module) and the Altair lunar lander. NASA documents indicate that the configuration of Altair is not yet final, so take what you see here with a grain of salt. Like when you hear the Google motto is "Don't be evil."

Both Orion and Altair are much bigger than their Apollo ancestors though they do look alike. NASA plans to put four astronauts on the moon and for longer visits, compared with the brief stay by two astronauts during the Apollo program.

While I'm no fan of the effective monopoly that is Google, I think Mr. Cutts makes a serious effort and his outreach to the webmaster community, to say nothing of his patience with detractors and those who post comments in response to his blogging, are to be commended.

Perhaps Matt will post a definitive answer on his excellent blog to put the matter to rest? Matt, have you gone where no Googler has gone before?

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