re: Predictions from the Apollo era were that those footprints would last for at least a million years
Don't forget the pieces of Surveyor 3 returned by Apollo 12 in 1969. That lander had been on the Moon for about 2 years.
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/Apollo12/A12_Experiments_III.html
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/docs/ApolloCat/Part1/Surv3.htm
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010303.html
