Many years from now when Tricorders are common place, we just might look back on October 30th 2009 as the birth of the first real tricorder. While the iPhone currently has motion, sound, light, location, radio wave and distance sensors, Jing Li a physical scientist, along with several other researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California developed a working prototype of a harmful gas detector for the iPhone.

The team, working under the Cell-All program in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, created a small stamp sized detector to be plugged in to an iPhone to “collect, process and transmit sensor data.” The sensor can detect and identify low concentrations of airborne ammonia, chlorine gas and methane.

[Via NASA]

While NASA may or may not be going back to the Moon in our lifetimes, you can still enjoy the majesty of Tranquility Base in your own home. It features 12 different phase settings to let you match what the real moon looks like outside on any given night.

[$38 from Urban Outfitters]

Romain Jerome’s new Moon Dust DNA watch will feature a face which includes dust from a rock retrieved during our first mission to the moon, the case is made from steel from the Apollo 11 spacecraft and the strap will be made up of fibers from a spacesuit worn during the ISS mission. I tried to add it to my Amazon.com Wish List, but for some reason they block items over a quarter million dollars. The company will release a symbolic quantity of 1969 watches will be made to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Various versions will be available for prices that range from $15,000 to $500,000. [via Romain Jerome]