The restricted lab is home to hundreds of kilos of moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts close to a half-century ago. And for the first time in decades, NASA is about to open some of the pristine samples and let geologists take a crack at them with new technology.
What better way to mark this summer’s 50th anniversary of humanity’s first footsteps on the moon than by sharing a bit of the lunar loot?
“It’s sort of a coincidence that we’re opening them in the year of the anniversary,” explained NASA’s Apollo sample curator Ryan Zeigler, covered head to toe in a white protective suit with matching fabric boots, gloves and hat.
“But certainly the anniversary increased the awareness and the fact that we’re going back to the moon.”
With the golden anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s feat fast approaching their lunar module Eagle landed July 20, 1969, on the Sea of Tranquility the moon is red-hot again.
After decades of flip-flopping between the moon and Mars as the next big astronaut destination, NASA aims to put astronauts on the lunar surface again by 2024 at the White House’s direction.
Mr. Zeigler’s job is to preserve what the 12 moonwalkers brought back from 1969 through 1972 lunar samples totalling 382 kg and ensure scientists get the best possible samples for study.
Never exposed
Some of the soil and bits of rock were vacuum-packed on the moon and never exposed to Earth’s atmosphere or frozen or stored in gaseous helium following splashdown and then left untouched.
The lab’s staff is now trying to figure out how best to remove the samples from their tubes and other containers without contaminating or spoiling anything. They’re practising with mock-up equipment and pretend lunar dirt.
Compared with Apollo-era tech, today’s science instruments are much more sensitive, Mr. Zeigler noted.
“We can do more with a milligram than we could do with a gram back then. So it was really good planning on their part to wait,” he said.
About 70% of the original haul is in a pristine sample vault, which has two combinations and takes two people to unlock.