Apollo 11 rock samples.

[3488]

To me one of the major successes of the fiorst manned landing on the moon, was the return of a large amount of lunar rock samples, as well as the spectacular imagery of that forbidding lunar landscape (which I love immensly) & the deployemnt of vital scientific equipment, i.e seismometer, Corner Reflector, etc.

Interesting sample here: Lunar Basalt 10049 returned by Apollo 11.

This is physical evidence of volcanic processes of having happened on the moon. Whilst various US & Russian, then Soviet unmanned orbiters had photographed volcanic domes, lava tubes etc from orbit, this was actual hard physical evidence to back up those earlier findings.

Sample 10046. Various moon rocks returned by Apollo 11.

Sample 10072, 442 gram Vesicular Basalt bought back by Apollo 11.

Various tiny fragments here bought back by Apollo 11. The grid spacing is 2mm.
The fragments incluide volcanic basalt, resolidified impact melt, breccias, anorthosites & glass sphericals.

It's interesting that anorthosites were found in Mare Tranquilitatis as anorthosites are usually found in the highlands, such as Apollo 16 landing site in Descartes. Peraps they were blated here from distant highland impacts???

A One Quarter of One MM (0.25mm) glass spherule, which itself sports two microscopic impact craters, returned with Apollo 11. Some of these seems to suggest an increase in lunar impact rate approx 500 million years ago. Perhaps Wayne may know more about this (Wayne no doubt does know much more about this than me).

I will be starting another thread dealing with lunar samples bought back from Apollo 12 to Apollo 17 but this thread is just for Apollo 11.

Andrew Brown.

 

[Shaky]

Thanks Andrew! I can't wait. You obviously know your stuff, but people like me have a basic understanding of the Genesis Rock from 15, and that is about it. I'm looking forward to learning more.

 

[3488]

Thanks Andrew! I can't wait. You obviously know your stuff, but people like me have a basic understanding of the Genesis Rock from 15, and that is about it. I'm looking forward to learning more.

Thanks Shaky.

I have actually seen the Genesis Rock with my own eyes. In 1990, I met both Al Worden & the Late Jim Irwin, from Apollo 15 in the UK when they did a series of talks here.

They had the Genesis Rock bought over amid huge red hot security. A few of us were selected (your's truly here one of them) to go up & actually look at the Genesis Rock. The Genesis Rock was in a perspex box.

We were not allowed to touch it, but what an experience & was one of only a few selected people to see it.

Genesis Rock. Apollo 15.

Genesis Rock as it was when it was on the Moon, before it was touched.

Collection of Genesis Rock.

Andrew Brown.

 

[Chryseplanatia]

Perhaps of interest:

Apollo 11 samples= 48.5 pounds.
Apollo 17 samples= 245 pounds!

Thank goodness the Ap11 guys didn't have to leave early, with only the (undocumented) contingency (grab) sample; I don't think it was more than a few ounces of soil.

And second only to the Genesis anorthosite was perhaps the orange soil (glass) from Apollo 17. That was a weird one!

 

[Smersh]

Hi Andrew, at one time there was was a small piece of moon rock brought back by astronauts in the Geological Museum in London (next to the Science Museum.) I saw it there once many years ago, but not sure if it's still there and I can't seem to find any links (on a quick search) to confirm it.

I just wondered if you (or anyone here) ever went there and saw it?

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla has a lovely specimen. I googled for some images:

The picture really doesn't do it justice. It sparkles with what I suppose is quartz. I'm not sure what mission it was returned on, maybe Jon Clarke could give us the background info. Take it away Jon....

 

[3488]

Hi EBM,

Is it not the Goodwill Sample from Apollo 11.

It is only fitting & proper that Tidbinbilla has a decent sample as Tidbinbilla was a crucial receiving station during Apollo & continues to this very day, contributes hugely to increasing mankinds knowledge of the Solar system as Tidbinbilla is part of NASA's Deep Space Network & IIRC was instrummental during the landing of Phoenix Mars Lander amongst others.

Without Tidbinbilla & the co-operation from the people & country of Australia, NASA would be stuffed to say the least, as they would have a gap of approx one third of their coverage. It is only right that Tidbinbilla has a decent rock sample from the Apollo program.

That is indeed a lovely sample.

Andrew Brown.

 

[clubvin]

i am a newbie to the forums, i heard that NASA has recently relesed a new video of Moon mission, has anybody heard about it?
is there clip available on internet to view? if any body has got the link, do share it with me, would love to see it

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

Hi EBM,

Is it not the Goodwill Sample from Apollo 11.

It is only fitting & proper that Tidbinbilla has a decent sample as Tidbinbilla was a crucial receiving station during Apollo & continues to this very day, contributes hugely to increasing mankinds knowledge of the Solar system as Tidbinbilla is part of NASA's Deep Space Network & IIRC was instrummental during the landing of Phoenix Mars Lander amongst others.

Without Tidbinbilla & the co-operation from the people & country of Australia, NASA would be stuffed to say the least, as they would have a gap of approx one third of their coverage. It is only right that Tidbinbilla has a decent rock sample from the Apollo program.

That is indeed a lovely sample.

Andrew Brown.

Hi Andrew, I've emailed Jon to ask if he knows the history of this rock. Hopefully he will reply here.
I'm not sure if Tidbinbilla had much to do with the Apollo program. Honeysuckle Creek did as along with Parkes. Honeysuckle Creek is all but history now, see my thread "Australia's part in History" in this Apollo 11 forum. The Honeysuckle received lunar TV transmissions of the first Moon walk, where what was seen all over the world before they switched in Parkes.
See these links for details on Honeysuckle:
http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/Apollo_11/index.html
http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/Apollo_ ... index.html <---- this one relates to the missing tapes and the slow scan quality.
Cheers EBM.

 

[earth_bound_misfit]

i am a newbie to the forums, i heard that NASA has recently relesed a new video of Moon mission, has anybody heard about it?
is there clip available on internet to view? if any body has got the link, do share it with me, would love to see it

Welcome Clubvin.
Take a look at this thread in this forum viewtopic.php?f=28&t=18534
and the restored video here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11.html

 

[JonClarke]

Hi EBM,

Is it not the Goodwill Sample from Apollo 11.

It is only fitting & proper that Tidbinbilla has a decent sample as Tidbinbilla was a crucial receiving station during Apollo & continues to this very day, contributes hugely to increasing mankinds knowledge of the Solar system as Tidbinbilla is part of NASA's Deep Space Network & IIRC was instrummental during the landing of Phoenix Mars Lander amongst others.

Without Tidbinbilla & the co-operation from the people & country of Australia, NASA would be stuffed to say the least, as they would have a gap of approx one third of their coverage. It is only right that Tidbinbilla has a decent rock sample from the Apollo program.

That is indeed a lovely sample.

Andrew Brown.

Hi Andrew, I've emailed Jon to ask if he knows the history of this rock. Hopefully he will reply here.
I'm not sure if Tidbinbilla had much to do with the Apollo program. Honeysuckle Creek did as along with Parkes. Honeysuckle Creek is all but history now, see my thread "Australia's part in History" in this Apollo 11 forum. The Honeysuckle received lunar TV transmissions of the first Moon walk, where what was seen all over the world before they switched in Parkes.
See these links for details on Honeysuckle:
http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/Apollo_11/index.html
http://www.honeysucklecreek.net/Apollo_ ... index.html <---- this one relates to the missing tapes and the slow scan quality.
Cheers EBM.

You rang, Sir?

Off the top of bny head its a vesicular basalt. That is about all. I have emailed the outreach officer at Tidbinbilla who is a friend of mine, he's somewhat busy at the moment so I don't expect an immediate reply.

As EBF said, Tidbinbilla did not exist in 1969. Tracking was handled by Honeysuckle Creek and Orual Valley, plus other stations in WA, SA, and QLD, sumplemented of course by Parkes. All NASA tracking was gradually consolidated at Tidbinbilla, suplemented by Parkes on occasion.

Jon

Jon

 

[MeteorWayne]

A moon rock is now orbiting in the ISS.

http://www.space.com/news/cs-090720-apo ... -rock.html

Forty years to the day after it was found and collected by Neil Armstrong, a moon rock is helping NASA mark the anniversary of the first lunar landing from onboard a perch that is closer than any Apollo-returned lunar sample has ever come to its original home.

As was learned exclusively by collectSPACE.com, the moon rock was secretly launched aboard a March 2009 space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), where on Monday night it will be revealed during a NASA 40th anniversary celebration of the Apollo program at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

The 21 gram (0.7 oz) moon rock is the first out of the 842 pounds (382 kg) of lunar samples collected by the Apollo astronauts between 1969 and 1972 to be launched back into space. And though its journey is planned as a round trip - it will return to Earth as it came with a future shuttle mission - the rock's return to space symbolizes in part NASA's current effort to return astronauts to the Moon.