Previously untouched and pristinely preserved Moon rocks collected from the Apollo era are about to be released for study, and NASA has selected nine research teams for this special opportunity.
One of these samples has never been in contact with Earth’s atmosphere, and some have been frozen or stored in helium since their collection. Two of the research teams are based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
These preserved samples are a time capsule to the Moon’s past, containing information that NASA will need as they begin plans for permanent habitation of the Moon in coming years.
The unopened sample was collected by the Apollo 17 mission, the last space flight to put humans on the lunar surface. This core sample from the Moon contains material spanning millions to billions of years.
Almost fifty years after Apollo, the current generation of scientists will now be able to use modern technologies on these samples to unravel even more about the history of the Moon.
For more information on this project, click here.
Watch raw, unedited footage of the Moon rocks here:
