April 28, 2024

We Have a Question for NASA: Where Are the Moon Rocks?

In this image, a NASA astronaut is on the Moon gathering lunar samples utilizing a rake. Apollo 11 brought the very first geologic samples from the Moon back to Earth. In all, astronauts collected 22 kg of product, consisting of 50 rocks, samples of the fine-grained lunar soil, and 2 core tubes that included product from up to 13 cm below the Moons surface area. Studying Moon rocks is really crucial since we can discover about the Moon.

Video Transcript:
Were in the lunar curation facility here, and this is where the Moon rocks are stored. Since were going to go back to the Moon, Im super delighted about the upcoming Artemis objectives. Were going to go to the South Pole. Were going to bring back various samples this time.
Studying Moon rocks is actually crucial due to the fact that we can learn about the Moon. We can discover about Earth.
This is a tidy room facility, and so that suggests the air gets filtered and we need to use these unique suits. And the Moon rocks are stored in these cabinets that are filled with nitrogen. Because we want to keep them safe from Earth water and Earth atmosphere and of course bacteria and all sorts of other unusual things, and we do that.
And studying Apollo samples, the Moon rocks we have here, will help us to understand what we can find there and what kind of tools we need, so we can gather more samples and bring them back to study for the next generation of lunar researchers.
We Asked a NASA Expert Video Series

In this image, a NASA astronaut is on the Moon collecting lunar samples utilizing a rake. This Moon landing became part of the Apollo 11 objective, which was the really first objective to land astronauts on the Moon. These astronauts were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 11 brought the first geologic samples from the Moon back to Earth. In all, astronauts gathered 22 kg of product, consisting of 50 rocks, samples of the fine-grained lunar soil, and two core tubes that included product from as much as 13 cm below the Moons surface area. These samples consisted of no water and offered no proof of living organisms at any time in the Moons history. Credit: NASA
Where are the Moon rocks?
Where are the Moon rocks from the Apollo objectives kept? When theyre not being studied by institutions or delighted in by museumgoers, NASA has a specialized Lunar Sample Curation Laboratory at NASAs Johnson Space Center to store and keep these transcendent samples safe.
Studying these samples assists us discover more about the origin of not just our moon, but our planet. Deputy Apollo Sample Curator (September 2019– December 2022) Dr. Juliane Gross explains more about lunar sample curation.