800 pounds of moon samples ruined

[vogon13]

A small bombshell on page 50 of the current issue of Air and Space Magazine:<br /><br />All 800 pounds of lunar surface samples brought back by the Apollo missions have been ruined by seal leaks in their containers.<br /><br />Earth air and humidity have chemically altered the rocks so they are pretty much scientifically worthless.<br /><br />At least one researcher feels an automated sample return mission will be needed before any more manned flights to the moon.<br /><br /><br />I wonder if the Soviet samples are OK ?<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[odysseus145]

If meaningful science can come from the Genesis samples, then surely the Apollo samples can't be completely worthless. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[vogon13]

The materials have been exposed to H2O for the first time in 4 billion years.<br /><br />Not sure how you could chemically reverse the effect and know you have returned the material to it's original condition instead of some other condition.<br /><br /><br />It really sucks . . . .<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[mikeemmert]

Hi, vogon13;<br /><br />We discussed this disaster in another thread. We were acually talking about the Stardust samples, wondering if there might be samples from a hypothetical solar wind from an even more hypothetical Nemesis death star (controversial). Another poster, a regular on Missions & Launches (I forgot who, I think it was a Mission Control guy) posted a more complete story on this.<br /><br />All the astronauts commented that the landers smelled strongly of burnt gunpowder from the dust tracked in on their feet. But the smell is gone.<br /><br />That smell probably represents trapped solar wind particles, but even if it doesn't, then it's a disaster because whatever it was was bound to be just as interesting.<br /><br />There are still studies, important ones like dating blobs of ejecta to determine the long-term rate of asteroidal bombardment amongst others, which can still be done on the samples, but this is still a major disaster.

 

[vogon13]

Sorry for the dup thread, did not see the other . . . . <br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[mikeemmert]

A blast from the past:<br /><br />The Smell of Moondust <br /><br />LINK <br /><br />Moondust. "I wish I could send you some," says Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan. Just a thimbleful scooped fresh off the lunar surface. "It's amazing stuff." <br /><br />Feel it—it's soft like snow, yet strangely abrasive. <br /><br />Taste it—"not half bad," according to Apollo 16 astronaut John Young. <br /><br />Sniff it—"it smells like spent gunpowder," says Cernan. <br /><br />How do you sniff moondust? <br /><br />Every Apollo astronaut did it. They couldn't touch their noses to the lunar surface. But, after every moonwalk (or "EVA"), they would tramp the stuff back inside the lander. Moondust was incredibly clingy, sticking to boots, gloves and other exposed surfaces. No matter how hard they tried to brush their suits before re-entering the cabin, some dust (and sometimes a lot of dust) made its way inside. <br /><br />Once their helmets and gloves were off, the astronauts could feel, smell and even taste the moon. <br /><br />The experience gave Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt history's first recorded case of extraterrestrial hay fever. "It's come on pretty fast," he radioed Houston with a congested voice. Years later he recalls, "When I took my helmet off after the first EVA, I had a significant reaction to the dust. My turbinates (cartilage plates in the walls of the nasal chambers) became swollen." <br /><br />Hours later, the sensation faded. "It was there again after the second and third EVAs, but at much lower levels. I think I was developing some immunity to it." <br /><br />Other astronauts didn't get the hay fever. Or, at least, "t

 

[enigma10]

Its a sad thing that ziplocks were invented after the lunar landing mission. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"<font color="#333399">An organism at war with itself is a doomed organism." - Carl Sagan</font></em> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

An extreme beat up.<br /><br />While it is disapointing that there has been some contamination to say that they are now scientifically worthless is media hype. A vast amount of useful information has been learned from lunar meteorites which are altered by their descent through the atmsophere and subsequent weathering. By comparison the Apollo (and Luna) samples are still pristene.<br /><br />Plus there have been thousands of papers published on Apollo samples already.<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[bonzelite]

there is plenty of moon rock available. i'm not too worried. once they discover anything useful up there for commercial purposes, more than 800lbs of rock will be brought back. <br /><br />

 

[3488]

If the Apollo samples are ruined as reported, then prosecutions need to happen for negligence. <br /><br />I would be very surprised if this is true.<br /><br />The samples are far too important to be allowed to spoil. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[enigma10]

I blame space monkey's <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em>"<font color="#333399">An organism at war with itself is a doomed organism." - Carl Sagan</font></em> </div>

 

[mikeemmert]

I'm not so sure about prosecutions. The samples <i>were</i> sealed, it's just that they didn't expect these highly corrosive free radicals. We now know to try to avoid this tragedy in the future.<br /><br />That's rocket science for you. Sometimes the rocket explodes...oh, well, try again!

 

[3488]

It would be interesting to find out what happened, I.E Chemical Reactions. <br /><br />This needs to be sorted, particularly if we are to return to the Moon, or go onto Mars, Phobos, Deimos, the asteroids, Callisto, etc. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[fatal291]

I hate media hype when it comes to space.. espicially meatorologist trying to explain why the weather may impact the shuttle's tiles.. They claim were going back to the moon so really it should not matter because if we needed more research they would not have said it before now.

 

[Leovinus]

Ok, make lemonade. Let's plant some seeds and see what grows. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[siarad]

ziplock?<br />If that's a resealable plastics bag the Minigrip were invented in 1954

 

[downunder]

G’ day Folks<br /><br />Reading below<br /><br /> />But, after every moonwalk (or "EVA"), they would tramp the stuff back inside the lander. Moondust was incredibly clingy, sticking to boots, gloves and other exposed surfaces. No matter how hard they tried to brush their suits before re-entering the cabin, some dust (and sometimes a lot of dust) made its way inside.<<br /><br />It reminded me of a website I was at some time ago that pointed out the concern of static electricity that could be generated artificially by walking around on the moon.<br /><br />According to the site it could build up and say damage some electronic equipment as it discharged from their spacesuit etc.<br /><br />Can anybody tell me if it was a concern and what they did to combat it or was there no problem at all?<br /><br />The claim is the same for Mars.<br /><br />Is their any good pictures of Lightning on Mars during dust storms that some one can direct me to.<br /><br />That is if Lightning can occur.<br /><br />Good post <br /><br />Cheers for now Downunder. <br />