Moon Rocks

Moon Rocks were collected and returned to Earth during the six Apollo space flight missions between 1969 and 1972. In total, astronauts collected 2,000 separate samples of rocks, dust, sand, core material, and pebbles weighing a total of 842 pounds. During the Apollo 17 mission, which lifted off on December 7, 1972, a record 244 pounds of lunar substance were collected and returned to Earth. The most famous lunar rock, called

English: The Genesis rock on the lunar surface Русский: Камень Бытия на лунной поверхности (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Genesis Rock,” was collected by astronaut James Irwin during the Apollo 15 mission. This half-pound rock is estimated to be more than 4 billion years old, as old as the moon itself. It is believed that the Genesis rock floated onto the surface of the moon during a period when the moon’s outer layers were in a liquid state. The largest lunar rock was collected during the Apollo 16 mission. Nicknamed “Big Muley,” the aluminum-and-calcium-rich rock weighs close to 26 pounds.

Today, 80% of the lunar rocks are housed in airtight vaults at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Another 13% are located in a special vault located at Brooks Air Force Base. 2% of the original amount has been destroyed during scientific study. The remaining 5%, or about 39 pounds, are available to scientists, educators, and museums. The astronauts were not allowed to keep any of the samples.

English: Lunar rock sample collected during Apollo 15 mission in late July-early August 1971 by Astronauts David Scott and James Irwin. Weighing nearly half a pound, this basaltic rock is believed to be 3.3 billion years old. It is housed in a protective case in an atmosphere of pressurized Nitrogen. Photo was taken at The Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential library and museum in Austin, Texas. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lunar samples located at Johnson Space Center are housed in a building called the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility. This high-tech facility was built in 1979 for the sole purpose of providing permanent storage for the lunar samples. Within the building are storage vaults for the samples, two laboratories, a vault that contains records and data, and machinery that supplies nitrogen to the storage and processing areas. The ultra-clean storage and laboratory areas are designed to maintain the condition of the lunar rocks while enabling scientists to study the lunar material. The nitrogen gas, for example, helps protect the samples from contamination. Samples are stored in stainless steel bins and separated by human hands by three layers of gloves. When handled by humans, the rocks are always kept in nitrogen-filled cabinets unless an experiment requires different conditions.

The Lunar Sample Laboratory facility is composed of bank-type vault doors, electronic sensing equipment, and other sophisticated materials for the purpose of withstanding hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and breaches of security.