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Sealed Cache of Moon Rocks To Be Opened By NASA (nydailynews.com)
"Scientists are hoping to unlock some of the universe's mysteries through 50-year-old moon rocks," reports the New York Daily News -- specifically, three samples that spent that half century sealed in airtight canisters.
One Apollo 18 sample from 1972 contains 1.8 pounds of a vacuum-sealed lunar core that is a stratified layer of rock that will be studied by six research teams. About 842 pounds of lunar rocks and soil have been brought back to Earth over six missions. Although a great deal of it has found its way to science labs, technological breakthroughs should allow for a more thorough comprehension of the satellite's chemical and geological composition...
"When the previous generations did Apollo, they knew the technology they had in that day was not the technology we would have in this day," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "So they made a determination that they would preserve samples. ⦠I'd like to thank, if it's OK, the Apollo generation, for preserving these samples, so that our generation could have this opportunity."
An anonymous Slashdot reader writes, "That's remarkable considering how often moon rocks were misplaced over the years."
"When the previous generations did Apollo, they knew the technology they had in that day was not the technology we would have in this day," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "So they made a determination that they would preserve samples. ⦠I'd like to thank, if it's OK, the Apollo generation, for preserving these samples, so that our generation could have this opportunity."
An anonymous Slashdot reader writes, "That's remarkable considering how often moon rocks were misplaced over the years."
That rocks from the moon are more than 50 years old.
I thought that these rocks could have been billions of years old.
Let the Trump bashing stories continue. These science-based articles have no foundation in reality. Oh, wait...
If only there was a way to get hold of more samples of moon rocks. Then we wouldn't need to preserve samples of them in vacuums for future generations.
Apollo 18 ? Really ?
At least not one that flew to the Moon.
There have been many very bad "horror in space" movies, but that one was among the worst.
mankind to overpopulate and ruin the earths ecosystems.
It's no longer profitable to do stuff here so they are moving on to the next closest body to exploit.
Rick B.
Hate to nitpick, but the "public" Apollo missions stopped at Apollo 17. You just blew their cover!
...it's that they were prescient enough to know that all the bullshit about space bases and stations aside, by Apollo 18 it was clear that the US government was likely stupid enough to simply 'give up' on space and 50 years later these would be the only pristine samples we'd have available by then. /weep
-Styopa
First, I had to double-check my calender that it isn't April 1st. Then I double-checked NASA's website to make sure Apollo 18 never happened. I also RTFA, just to make sure it says "Apollo 18", and it sure does. Not sure just who to attribute this FAIL to; NYDN or Slashdot.
NASA better be careful, that bag is probably full of moon spiders.
Quoting the infamous Cave Johnson, CEO of Aperature Science, from his 1981 recordings:
"The bean counters told me we literally could not afford to buy seven dollars worth of moon rocks, much less seventy million. Bought 'em anyway. Ground 'em up, mixed em into a gel."
"And guess what? Ground up moon rocks are pure poison. I am deathly ill."
"Still, it turns out they're a great portal conductor. So now we're gonna see if jumping in and out of these new portals can somehow leech the lunar poison out of a man's bloodstream. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. [coughs] Let's all stay positive and do some science."
"That said, I would really appreciate it if you could test as fast as possible. Caroline, please bring me more pain pills."
So the question for NASA is when should they open this last supply of moon rocks for study. The longer they wait, the more advanced our science will be, but also the longer they wait, the longer we go without the knowledge that today's science can unlock. Well, obviously now is the right time. Why? Because soon the cache will be worthless when SpaceX returns new samples, so this is the last chance to do real science from the Apollo missions.
Although a great deal of it has found its way to science labs [...]
In the early 2000s I was doing some work with a NASA contractor and had the good fortune of being able to suit up and go into the clean room/vault where all of these samples are kept at JSC. In walking around, it struck me how many samples were in the vault vs. in the cases in the clean room where they could be worked on. After I asked, I was informed that roughly 95% of the samples were still in “pristine” condition in the vault, meaning they had been left entirely untouched in their original nitrogen-rich environment ever since getting back from the moon.
95%.
All of the research up to that point, over three decades’ worth, including the samples sent out to scientists, had been done on just 5% of what was brought back.
Mind you, this post isn’t a critique or commentary. This is just me trying to give some context to that comment from the summary.
They've been sealed, not looked at or studied in FIFTY YEARS?
Way to go NASA. #Tron25yrlater
My father was a graduate student at an American university when his department received a batch of moon rocks. The professors were scared of slicing such precious stones. My father looked at them, said they just looked like more rocks (he was an ex-geologist) and offered to slice them up on the diamond saw.
He let me hold and look at one before he did. I was probably too young to appreciate the great effort that got them. My reaction, too, was that it was just another rock.
My mother washed the moon dust out his hair afterwards. It is is a pity they did not filter and collect it. Auctioning the dust on ebay would have been good fun.