S71-43050 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 15 lunar sample No. 15305 in the Non-sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample, pictured on a small spatula in a lab technician's glove, is green and is one of six recently taken from container No. 173, made up of comprehensive fines from the Apennine Front, Site No. 7. Astronauts David R. Scott, commander; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, took the sample during their second extravehicular activity (EVA), at a ground elapsed time (GET) of 146:05 to 146:06.
S71-19489 (18 Feb. 1971) --- Glove handlers work with freshly opened Apollo 14 lunar sample material in modularized cabinets in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The glove operator on the right starts to pour fine lunar material which he has just taken from a tote bag. The powdery sample was among the last to be revealed of the 90-odd pounds of material brought back to Earth by the Apollo 14 crew members.
AS12-49-7286 (20 Nov. 1969) --- Astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, drives a core sample tube into the lunar surface during the Apollo 12 extravehicular activity. Good view of lunar soil.
A closeup view or "mug shot" of Apollo 16 lunar sample no. 68815, a dislodged fragment from a parent boulder roughly four feet high and five feet long encountered at Station 8. The crew tried in vain to overturn the parent boulder. A fillet-soil sample was taken close to the boulder, allowing for study of the type and rate of erosion acting on lunar rocks. The fragment itself is very hard, has many veticles and a variety of inclusions. In addition, numerous metallic particles were observed in the black matrix.
S73-16199 (December 1972) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar sample number 72415,0 which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. This sample is a brecciated dunite clast weighing a little over 32 grams (about 1.14 ounces). This sample was collected at station 2 (South Massif) during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CREDIT: The view was photographed by Karl Mills, Scientific Photo Arts, Berkeley, California.
S73-16198 (December 1972) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar sample number 72415,0 which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. This sample is a brecciated dunite clast weighing a little over 32 grams (about 1.14 ounces). This sample was collected at station 2 (South Massif) during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA).
AS16-106-17340 (23 April 1972) --- Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples near North Ray Crater during the third Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. This picture was taken by astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot. Young is using the lunar surface rake and a set of tongs. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is parked in the field of large boulders in the background. While astronauts Young and Duke descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.
S73-16007 (December 1972) --- A "mug shot" of Apollo 17 lunar sample no. 72255 which was brought back from the lunar surface by the final team of Apollo astronauts. The rock weighs 461.2 grams and measures 2.5 x 9 x 10.5 centimeters. The light grey breccia is sub-rounded on all faces except the top and north sides.
AS16-114-18423 (21 April 1972) --- Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, is photographed collecting lunar samples at Station No. 1, during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA), at the Descartes landing site. This picture, looking eastward, was taken by astronaut John W. Young, commander. Duke is standing at the rim of Plum Crater. The parked Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) can be seen in the left background. While astronauts Young and Duke descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands region of the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.
AS17-145-22157 (12 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, uses an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA), at Station 5 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. A gnomon is atop the large rock in the foreground. The gnomon is a stadia rod mounted on a tripod, and serves as an indicator of the gravitational vector and provides accurate vertical reference and calibrated length for determining size and position of objects in near-field photographs. The color scale of blue, orange and green is used to accurately determine color for photography. The rod of it is 18 inches long. The scoop Dr. Schmitt is using is 11 3/4 inches long and is attached to a tool extension which adds a potential 30 inches of length to the scoop. The pan portion, obscured in this view, has a flat bottom, flanged on both sides with a partial cover on the top. It is used to retrieve sand, dust and lunar samples too small for the tongs, another geological tool used by the astronauts. The pan and the adjusting mechanism are made of stainless steel and the handle is made of aluminum. Within the foreground of this scene, three lunar samples were taken--numbers 75060, 75075 and 75080. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, crew commander, was using a 60mm lens on the 70mm Hasselblad camera and type SO-368 film to take this photograph.
AS17-134-20425 (11 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot, collects lunar rake samples at Station 1 during the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This picture was taken by astronaut Eugene Cernan, commander. The lunar rake, an Apollo lunar geology hand tool, is used to collect discrete samples of rocks and rock chips ranging in size from one-half inch (1.3 centimeter) to one inch (2.5 centimeter).
AS17-145-22165 (12 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot, with his adjustable sampling scoop, heads for a selected rock on the lunar surface to retrieve the sample for study. The action was photographed by Apollo 17 crew commander, astronaut Eugene A. Cernan on the mission's second extravehicular activity (EVA), at Station 5 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Cernan used a 70mm Hasselblad camera equipped with a 60mm lens and type SO-368 color film for this photograph. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "America" in lunar orbit.
AS17-134-20426 (11 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt collects lunar rake samples at Station 1 during the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This picture was taken by astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander. Schmitt is the lunar module pilot. The Lunar Rake, an Apollo Lunar Geology Hand Tool, is used to collect discrete samples of rocks and rock chips ranging in size from one-half inch (1.3 cm) to one inch (2.5 cm).
AS12-47-6932 (19 Nov. 1969) --- Close-up view of a set of tongs, an Apollo Lunar Hand Tool, being used by astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander, to pick up lunar samples during the Apollo 12 extravehicular activity. This photograph shows Conrad's legs and a good view of the lunar soil.
S69-40749 (July 1969) --- Dr. Grant Heikan, MSC and a Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team member, examines lunar material in a sieve from the bulk sample container which was opened in the Biopreparation Laboratory of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. The samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.
S69-45002 (26 July 1969) --- A close-up view of the lunar rocks contained in the first Apollo 11 sample return container. The rock box was opened for the first time in the Vacuum Laboratory of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37, at 3:55 p.m. (CDT), Saturday, July 26, 1969. The gloved hand gives an indication of size. This box also contained the Solar Wind Composition experiment (not shown) and two core tubes for subsurface samples (not shown). These lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.
AS16-107-17561 (16-27 April 1972) --- One of the Apollo 16 astronauts scoops up lunar soil at the base of a small boulder at Station No. 9 during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. Depressions to the right of the scoop were made when a surface sample was taken. This photograph was taken just before the boulder was rolled over. While astronauts John W. Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.
S75-23543 (April 1972) --- This Apollo 16 lunar sample (moon rock) was collected by astronaut John W. Young, commander of the mission, about 15 meters southwest of the landing site. This rock weighs 128 grams when returned to Earth. The sample is a polymict breccia. This rock, like all lunar highland breccias, is very old, about 3,900,000,000 years older than 99.99% of all Earth surface rocks, according to scientists. Scientific research is being conducted on the balance of this sample at NASA's Johnson Space Center and at other research centers in the United States and certain foreign nations under a continuing program of investigation involving lunar samples collected during the Apollo program.
S72-56362 (27 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt (facing camera), Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, was one of the first to look at the sample of "orange" soil which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. Schmitt discovered the material at Shorty Crater during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). The "orange" sample, which was opened Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1972, is in the bag on a weighing platform in the sealed nitrogen cabinet in the upstairs processing line in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Just before, the sample was removed from one of the bolt-top cans visible to the left in the cabinet. The first reaction of Schmitt was "It doesn't look the same." Most of the geologists and staff viewing the sample agreed that it was more tan and brown than orange. Closer comparison with color charts showed that the sample had a definite orange cast, according the MSC geology branch Chief William Phinney. After closer investigation and sieving, it was discovered that the orange color was caused by very fine spheres and fragments of orange glass in the midst of darker colored, larger grain material. Earlier in the day the "orange" soil was taken from the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container No. 2 and placed in the bolt-top can (as was all the material in the ALSRC "rock box").
Microscopic views of Apollo XII Lunar rock sample thin sections, with and without polarized light. 1. Lunar Sample - Apollo XII (Thin Sections)
S69-45009 (27 July 1969) --- This is the first lunar sample that was photographed in detail in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The photograph shows a granular, fine-grained, mafic (iron magnesium rich) rock. At this early stage of the examination, this rock appears similar to several igneous rock types found on Earth. The scale is printed backwards due to the photographic configuration in the Vacuum Chamber. The sample number is 10003. This rock was among the samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.
S69-45025 (27 July 1969) --- This is the first lunar sample that was photographed in detail in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The photograph shows a granular, fine-grained, mafic (iron magnesium rich) rock. At this early stage of the examination, this rock appears similar to several igneous rock types found on Earth. The scale is printed backwards due to the photographic configuration in the Vacuum Chamber. The sample number is 10003. This rock was among the samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.
ISS020-E-14200 (FOR RELEASE 21 JULY 2009) --- A moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo 11, humans? first landing on the moon in July 1969, is shown as it floats aboard the International Space Station. Part of Earth can be seen through the window. The 3.6 billion year-old lunar sample was flown to the station aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-119 in April 2009 in honor of the July 2009 40th anniversary of the historic first moon landing. The rock, lunar sample 10072, was flown to the station to serve as a symbol of the nation?s resolve to continue the exploration of space. It will be returned on shuttle mission STS-128 to be publicly displayed.
ISS020-E-14196 (FOR RELEASE 21 JULY 2009) --- A moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo 11, humans? first landing on the moon in July 1969, is shown as it floats aboard the International Space Station. Part of Earth can be seen through the window. The 3.6 billion year-old lunar sample was flown to the station aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-119 in April 2009 in honor of the July 2009 40th anniversary of the historic first moon landing. The rock, lunar sample 10072, was flown to the station to serve as a symbol of the nation?s resolve to continue the exploration of space. It will be returned on shuttle mission STS-128 to be publicly displayed.
ISS020-E-014193 (FOR RELEASE 21 JULY 2009) --- A moon rock brought to Earth by Apollo 11, humans? first landing on the moon in July 1969, is shown as it floats aboard the International Space Station. Part of Earth can be seen through the window. The 3.6 billion year-old lunar sample was flown to the station aboard Space Shuttle mission STS-119 in April 2009 in honor of the July 2009 40th anniversary of the historic first moon landing. The rock, lunar sample 10072, was flown to the station to serve as a symbol of the nation?s resolve to continue the exploration of space. It will be returned on shuttle mission STS-128 to be publicly displayed.
S69-60354 (29 Nov. 1969) --- A scientist's gloved hand holds one of the numerous rock samples brought back to Earth from the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission. The rocks are under thorough examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). This sample is a highly shattered basaltic rock with a thin black-glass coating on five of its six sides. Glass fills fractures and cements the rock together. The rock appears to have been shattered and thrown out by a meteorite impact explosion and coated with molten rock material before the rock fell to the surface.
S73-15713 (January 1973) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar rock sample No. 76055 being studied and analyzed in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. This tan-gray irregular, rounded breccia was among many lunar samples brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crew. The rock measures 18 x 20 x 25 centimeters (7.09 x 7.87 x 9.84 inches) and weighs 6,389 grams (14.2554 pounds). The rock was collected from the south side of the lunar roving vehicle while the Apollo 17 astronauts were at Station 7 (base of North Massif).
S69-60294 (26 Nov. 1969) --- One of the first views of the Apollo 12 lunar rocks is this photograph of the open sample return container. The large rock is approximately 7 1/2 inches across and is larger than any rock brought back to Earth by the crew of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Two of the rocks in the first container are crystalline and generally lighter in color than those returned on the first lunar landing. The rocks in this box are medium charcoal brown/gray in color.
S69-40940 (August 1969) --- Landrum Young (seated), Brown and Root - Northrop, and Russell Stullken, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), examine mice in the Animal Laboratory which have been inoculated with lunar sample material. The sample material was collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.
S72-38465 (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, engineer David White (left) and University of Texas geologist/professor William Muehlberger look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA
S69-60580 (November 1969) --- Close-up view of Apollo 12 sample 12,065 under observation in the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). This sample, collected during the second Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean, is a fine-grained rock. Note the glass-lined pits. Viewer can gain an idea of the size of the rock by reference to the gauge on the bottom portion of the number meter.
jsc2019e023774 --- Lunar sample processors work in the Lunar Lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
S69-40939 (August 1969) --- Landrum Young, Brown and Root - Northrop technician, examines mice in the Animal Laboratory of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) which have been inoculated with lunar sample material. The sample material was collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.
S72-38463 (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, geologists Don Morrison (left) and Fred Horz flank University of Texas geologist/professor William (Bill) Muehlberger as the three look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA
S69-60487 (1 Dec. 1969) --- A close-up view of one of the rocks brought back to Earth from the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission. The rock is under examination in the Physical-Chemical Test Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL), Building 37, MSC. This rock is one of two breccia found in the contingency collection gathered by astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean during their stay on the lunar surface. The breccia rocks, common in the collection of Apollo 11 lunar samples, have been rare in examinations of the Apollo 12 samples thus far.
S71-43052 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of a container full of green-colored lunar soil in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample, broken down into six separate samples after this photo was made, was made up of comprehensive fines from near Spur Crater on the Apennine Front. The numbers assigned to the sample include numbers 15300 through 15305. Astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin took the sample during their second extravehicular activity (EVA) at a ground elapsed time (GET) of 146:05 to 146:06.
S71-42955 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 15 lunar sample no. 15415 in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample is the white anorthositic rock (Genesis Rock) collected by astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin in container no. 196 at Site no. 7 at a Ground Elapsed Time of 145 hours and 42 minutes, on the mission's second extravehicular activity (EVA).
S71-19269 (12 Feb. 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 14 sample number 14414 & 14412, a fine lunar powder-like material under examination in the Sterile Nitrogen Atmospheric Processing (SNAP) line in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Scientists are currently making preliminary analyses of material brought back from the moon by the crew of Apollo 14 lunar landing mission.
S69-39996 (25 July 1969) --- The first Apollo 11 sample return container, with lunar surface material inside, is unloaded at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The rock box had arrived only minutes earlier at Ellington Air Force Base by air from the Pacific recovery area. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity.
The incubation laboratory of the Sample Operations Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, bldg 37.
S71-21245 (24 Feb. 1971) --- Dr. Daniel H. Anderson, an aerospace technologist and test director in the Nonsterile Nitrogen Processing Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) looks at much-discussed Apollo 14 basketball-size rock through a microscope. The two moon-exploring crew men of Apollo 14 brought back 90-odd pounds of lunar sample material from their two periods of extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro area.
S69-53126 (30 Sept. 1969) --- A progress photograph of sample experiments being conducted in the Manned Spacecraft Center?s Lunar Receiving Laboratory with lunar material brought back to Earth by the crew of the Apollo 11 mission. Aseptic cultures of liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) - a species of plant commonly found growing on rocks or in wooded areas - are shown in two rows of sample containers. Seven weeks or some 50 days prior to this photograph 0.22 grams of finely ground lunar material was added to each of the upper samples of cultures. The lower cultures were untreated, and a noted difference can be seen in the upper row and the lower one, both in color and size of the cultures.
AS16-107-17473 (22 April 1972) --- The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) appears to be parked in a deep lunar depression, on the slope of Stone Mountain. This photograph of the lunar scene at Station No. 4 was taken during the second Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. A sample collection bag is in the right foreground. Note field of small boulders at upper right. While astronauts John W. Young, commander, and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.
AS12-49-7278 (19-20 Nov. 1969) --- Astronaut Alan L. Bean holds a Special Environmental Sample Container filled with lunar soil collected during the extravehicular activity (EVA) in which astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., commander, and Bean, lunar module pilot, participated. Conrad, who took this picture, is reflected in Bean's helmet visor. Conrad and Bean descended in the Apollo 12 Lunar Module (LM) to explore the lunar surface while astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr., command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit. Photo credit: NASA
S69-60909 (November 1969) --- A close-up view of lunar sample 12,052 under observation in the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., and Alan L. Bean collected several rocks and samples of finer lunar matter during their Apollo 12 lunar landing mission extravehicular activity (EVA). This particular sample was picked up during the second space walk (EVA) on Nov. 20, 1969. It is a typically fine-grained crystalline rock with a concentration of holes on the left part of the exposed side. These holes are called vesicles and have been identified as gas bubbles formed during the crystallization of the rock. Several glass-lined pits can be seen on the surface of the rock.
Overall view of the equipment in Room 2-203, Vacuum Laboratory, Sample Operations Area, Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Bldg 37.
In this photograph, laboratory technician Bart Ruark visually inspects a Japanese Qail confined within a class III cabinet in the Intervertebrae, Aves, and Fish Laboratory of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37 of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas. This laboratory was part of the overall physical, chemical, and biological test program of the Apollo 11 returned lunar samples. Aboard the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle, the Apollo 11 mission launched from The Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The 3-man crew aboard the flight consisted of astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Edwin Aldrin, Lunar Module (LM) pilot; and Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. In 2 1/2 hours, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material which was returned to Earth for analysis.
In this photograph, a laboratory technician handles a portion of the more than 20 different plant lines that were used within the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37 of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas. This laboratory was part of the overall physical, chemical, and biological test program of the Apollo 11 returned lunar samples. Aboard the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle, the Apollo 11 mission launched from The Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The 3-man crew aboard the flight consisted of astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Edwin Aldrin, Lunar Module (LM) pilot; and Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. In 2 1/2 hours, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material which was returned to Earth for analysis.
The two moon-exploring crewmen of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission show off some of the largest of the lunar rocks they collected on their mission, during a through-the-glass meeting with newsmen in the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell (left), lunar module pilot, holds up a tote bag in which some of the lunar samples were stowed, while astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, looks on. The largest sample brought back on the mission, a basketball-size rock (nicknamed "Big Bertha"), is said to be the largest lunar rock collected in three lunar landing missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
S71-20375 (19 Feb. 1971) --- The two moon-exploring crewmen of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission show off some of the largest of the lunar rocks they collected on their mission, during a through-the-glass meeting with newsmen in the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell (left), lunar module pilot, holds up a tote bag in which some of the lunar samples were stowed, while astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, looks on. The largest sample brought back on the mission, a basketball-size rock (nicknamed "Big Bertha"), is said to be the largest lunar rock collected in three lunar landing missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Two members of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission participate in a simulation of deploying and using lunar tools on the surface of the moon during a training exercise in bldg 9 on April 22, 1969. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (on left), lunar module pilot, uses scoop and tongs to pick up sample. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, holds bag to receive sample. In the background is a Lunar Module mockup. Both men are wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU).
Atmospheric Decontamination System equipment in Room 2-203, Vacuum Laboratory, Sample Operations Area, Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Bldg 37.
AS16-106-17413 (23 April 1972) --- Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, looks over a large boulder at Station No.13 during the third Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Descartes landing site. This was the site of the permanently shadowed soil sample which was taken from a hole extending under overhanging rock. Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took this photograph. Concerning Young's reaching under the big rock, Duke remarked: "You do that in west Texas and you get a rattlesnake!"
AS16-117-18825 (23 April 1972) --- Astronaut John W. Young, Apollo 16 commander, with a sample bag in his left hand, moves toward the bottom part of the gnomon (center) while collecting samples at the North Ray Crater geological site. Note how soiled Young's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is during this the third and final Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA). The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is parked at upper left.
S71-21244 (24 Feb. 1971) --- Three Brown and Root/Northrop technicians in the Nonsterile Nitrogen Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) peer through glass at the much-discussed basketball size rock which Apollo 14 crewmen brought back from the Fra Mauro area of the moon. They are, left to right, Linda Tyler, Nancy L. Trent and Sandra Richards.
AS17-140-21438 (7-19 Dec. 1972) --- This 70mm frame features a close-up view of a large multi-cracked boulder discovered by astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, commander, and Harrison H. (Jack) Schmitt, lunar module pilot, during their visit to extravehicular activity (EVA) Station 6. This boulder, referred to as number two, provided several samples for the crew members' record-setting volume of rock collections. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "America" in lunar orbit. Cernan and Schmitt were the last crew members to explore the moon in the Apollo Program.
S69-40110 (25 July 1969) --- The first Apollo 11 sample return container, containing lunar surface material, is photographed just after it arrives at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL), Building 37, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The box arrived by air at Ellington Air Force Base just before noon on Friday, July 25, 1969, from the Pacific recovery area. It was taken immediately to the Manned Spacecraft Center. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA).
AS16-117-18826 (23 April 1972) --- Astronaut John W. Young collects samples at the North Ray Crater geological site during the mission's third and final Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA). He has a rake in his hand, and the gnomon is near his foot. Note how soiled Young's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is. While astronauts Young, commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) "Orion" to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Casper" in lunar orbit.
S71-43203 (9 Aug. 1971) --- Astronauts David R. Scott, left foreground, and James B. Irwin, right foreground, join the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) geologists in getting first looks at some of the first Apollo 15 samples to be opened in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the MSC Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). Holding the microphone and making recorded tapes of the two Apollo 15 crew men's comments is Dr. Gary Lofgren. Partially obscured, near center of photo is Dr. William Phinney, and to his left is Dr. James W. Head.
Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong works with an Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container during a two-and-a-half-hour lunar surface simulation training exercise. The image was taken on Apr. 18, 1969, in Building 9 at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. The sample tubes carried by NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover are destined to carry the first samples in history from another planet back to Earth. Future scientists will use these carefully selected representatives of Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust), to look for evidence of potential microbial life present in Mars' ancient past and to answer other key questions about Mars and its history. Perseverance will land at Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24297
The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. This photograph was taken as the mission’s first loaded sample return container arrived at Ellington Air Force Base by air from the Pacific recovery area. The rock box was immediately taken to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas. Happily posing for the photograph with the rock container are (L-R) Richard S. Johnston (back), special assistant to the MSC Director; George M. Low, MSC Apollo Spacecraft Program manager; George S. Trimble (back), MSC Deputy Director; Lt. General Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director, Office of Manned Spaceflight at NASA headquarters; Eugene G. Edmonds, MSC Photographic Technology Laboratory; Dr. Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator; and Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director.
jsc2018e076655 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions. Apollo Lunar Sample Principle Scientist Andrea Mosie held a lunar sample up for inspection by the Vice President, who was joined in the viewing room behind protective glass by Apollo Lunar Sample Curator Ryan Ziegler.
jsc2018e076652 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions. Apollo Lunar Sample Principle Scientist Andrea Mosie held a lunar sample up for inspection by the Vice President, who was joined in the viewing room behind protective glass by Apollo Lunar Sample Curator Ryan Ziegler.
Luna 16 was the first robotic mission to land on the Moon on basaltic plains of Mare Fecunditatis and return a sample to the Earth. It was launched by the Soviet Union on 12 September 1970. This image was taken by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
S69-60424 (29 Nov. 1969) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, holds two lunar rocks which were among the samples brought back from the moon by the Apollo 12 astronauts. The samples are under scientific examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory.
S70-28115 (January 1970) --- This overlay map of terrain on the lunar nearside shows the area of the landing site of the upcoming Apollo 13 mission, in relation to two previous NASA landings. The proposed Apollo 13 landing site is located in the highlands north of Fra Mauro. The coordinates of the planned site are 17.550 degrees west longitude and 3.617 degrees south latitude. The landing site of the Apollo 12 mission, which was highlighted by a lunar landing on Nov. 19, 1969, is located approximately 105 nautical miles west of the Apollo 13 site. The landing site of the unmanned Ranger 7 space vehicle, which impacted on the moon on July 31, 1964, at 10.74 degrees south latitude and 20.7 degrees west longitude, is approximately 130 nautical miles south-southwest of the Apollo 13 site, and approximately 140 nautical miles south-southeast of the Apollo 12 site.
S72-36949 (April 1972) --- A black and white breccia from the rim of North Ray Crater. Its white, feldspar-rich, fine grained matrix is very friable. A variety of different rock types are observed as inclusions. They range in size from several centimeters to less than 1mm. Note also the presence white, feldspar-rich inclusions.
S69-40945 (August 1969) --- This is a core tube sample under study and examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center?s (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). The sample was among lunar soil and rock samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969. While astronauts Armstrong, commander; and Aldrin, lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility landing site on the moon. Astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit.
This lunar map shows the traverse plans for the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. Areas marked include Lunar module landing site, areas for the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP) and areas for gathering of core samples.
A technology demonstration flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative could change how research teams collect and study soil and rock samples on other planetary bodies. Lunar PlanetVac, or LPV, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company of Altadena, California, LPV is designed to, essentially, operate as a vacuum cleaner with a pneumatic, compressed gas-powered sample acquisition and delivery system to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers. Investigations and demonstrations, such as LPV, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
A technology demonstration flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative could change how research teams collect and study soil and rock samples on other planetary bodies. Lunar PlanetVac, or LPV, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company of Altadena, California, LPV is designed to, essentially, operate as a vacuum cleaner with a pneumatic, compressed gas-powered sample acquisition and delivery system to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers. Investigations and demonstrations, such as LPV, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
A technology demonstration flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative could change how research teams collect and study soil and rock samples on other planetary bodies. Lunar PlanetVac, or LPV, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company of Altadena, California, LPV is designed to, essentially, operate as a vacuum cleaner with a pneumatic, compressed gas-powered sample acquisition and delivery system to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers. Investigations and demonstrations, such as LPV, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
jsc2018e003239_alt (Jan. 31, 2018) --- Composite image of an Apollo lunar sample in front of the lunar eclipse "Blood Moon". Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
jsc2011e118362 - Panorama view of Apollo 16 lunar surface photos of the Station 10 and Sample 381 Rock taken during the second moonwalk of the mission. The panoramas were built by combining Apollo 16 images starting with frame AS16-114-18450 thru end frame AS16-114-18467. The panoramic images received minimal retouching by NASA imagery specialists, including the removal of lens flares that were problematic in stitching together the individual frames and blacking out the sky to the lunar horizon. These adjustments were made based on observations of the Moon walkers who reported that there are no stars visible in the sky due to the bright lunar surface reflection of the Sun.
S70-50762 (November 1970) --- A line drawing illustrating layout view of the modular equipment transporter (MET) and its equipment. A MET (or Rickshaw, as it has been nicknamed) will be used on the lunar surface for the first time during the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. The Rickshaw will serve as a portable workbench with a place for the Apollo lunar hand tools (ALHT) and their carrier, three cameras, two sample container bags, a special environment sample container (SESC), a lunar portable magnetometer (LPM) and spare film magazines.
S69-55368 (6 Oct. 1969) --- Two members of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission participate in lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) simulations in the Flight Crew Training Building at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander (facing camera), simulates picking up samples. Astronaut Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, simulates photographic lunar rock sample documentation.
S71-23772 (11-12 March 1971) --- Two members of the prime crew of the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission collect soil samples during a simulation of lunar surface extravehicular activity in the Taos, New Mexico area. Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, is using a scoop. Astronaut David R. Scoot (right), commander, is holding a sample bag. On the left is a Lunar Roving Vehicle trainer.
S69-32233 (22 April 1969) --- Two members of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission participate in a simulation of deploying and using lunar tools on the surface of the moon. The rehearsal took place during a training exercise in building 9 on April 22, 1969. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (on left), lunar module pilot, uses a scoop and tongs to pick up samples. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, holds the bag to receive the sample. In the background is a Lunar Module (LM) mock-up.
S72-48891 (September 1972) --- Two members of the prime crew of the Apollo 17 lunar landing mission participate in lunar surface extravehicular activity simulation training at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt (foreground), lunar module pilot, simulates scooping up lunar sample material. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan (background), commander, holds a sample bag.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins places a sample marker in the soil before collecting a sample during a nighttime simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 16, 2024. A sample marker provides a photographic reference point for science samples collected on the lunar surface. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
NASA astronaut Andre Douglas uses a rake to pour “lunar” samples into a sample bag during a simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 17, 2024. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel
S69-40752 (August 1969) --- Landrum Young, Brown and Root - Northrop technician examines mice in the Animal Laboratory of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) which have been inoculated with lunar sample material. The sample material was collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.
S69-40751 (August 1969) --- Landrum Young, Brown and Root - Northrop technician, examines mice in the Animal Laboratory of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) which have been inoculated with lunar sample material. The sample material was collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.
S70-56433 (December 1970) --- Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot of the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) training during a visit to Hawaii. He is simulating using lunar surface geological tools to collect a core sample.
S71-21619 (1 March 1971) --- Dan Anderson works with Apollo 14 lunar samples in the Lunar Receiving Lab (LRL) during the mission?s postflight period. Photo credit: NASA
Dane Cone, Los Altos High School with Dr Hans Mark attending the Lunar Sample Exhibit (space suit exhibit)
Biological Test Laboratory, Sample Operations Area, Lunar Receiving Laboratory, bldg 37, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas.
S82-26777 --- Technicians examine lunar samples in a glovebox at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
S69-40740 (July 1969) --- Dr. Ross Taylor (seated), Australian National University, and John Allen, Brown and Root-Northrop technician, review preliminary data from the optical emission spectrograph in the Spectrographic Laboratory of the Physical-Chemical Test Laboratory. Tests were being conducted on lunar surface material collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.
This image depicting the porosity of the lunar highland crust was derived using bulk density data from NASA GRAIL mission and independent grain density measurements from NASA Apollo moon mission samples as well as orbital remote-sensing data.
S69-47900 (September 1969) --- This is a photo micrograph of lunar sample 10022. Magnification one inch equals one-tenth millimeter. The light blue and white mineral is plagioclase. The black is ilmenite, and the blue and/or green and/or orange and/or yellow and/or red mineral is pyroxene. The large pyroxene is a phenocryst that had been partially resorbed. The lunar samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission have been subjected to extensive tests and examinations at the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory.
S70-46191 (July 1970) --- Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface training at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Shepard is adjusting a camera mounted to the modular equipment transporter (MET). The MET, nicknamed the "Rickshaw", will serve as a portable work bench with a place for the Apollo lunar hand tools and their carrier, three cameras, two sample container bags, a special environment sample container, spare magazines, and a lunar surface Penetrometer. Shepard is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).
S69-32243 (22 April 1969) --- Two members of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission participate in a simulation of deploying and using lunar tools, on the surface of the moon, during a training exercise in Building 9 on April 22, 1969. Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (on left), lunar module pilot, uses a scoop to pick up a sample. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, holds bag to receive sample. In the background is a Lunar Module (LM) mock-up. Both crewmembers are wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU).
S69-45507 (4 Aug. 1969) --- A close-up of the second Apollo 11 sample return container in the Vacuum Laboratory of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37. This rock box was opened for the first time at 1 p.m. (CDT), Aug. 4, 1969. Some of the material has already been removed from the ALSRC in this view. The stainless steel can contains some course lunar surface material. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.
S70-46157 (July 1970) --- Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission, participates in lunar surface simulation training at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The modular equipment transporter (MET) is in the left background, in the center foreground is a gnomon. The MET, nicknamed the "Rickshaw", will serve as a portable work bench with a place for the Apollo lunar hand tools and their carrier, three cameras, two sample container bags, a special environment sample container, spare magazines, and a lunar surface Penetrometer. Shepard is wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).
A science instrument flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative is planning to study how different materials react to the lunar environment. Regolith Adherence Characterization, or RAC, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Aegis Aerospace, RAC’s wheels feature a series of different sample materials, helping researchers to better understand how lunar dust repels or attaches to each. Investigations and demonstrations, such as RAC, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
A science instrument flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative is planning to study how different materials react to the lunar environment. Regolith Adherence Characterization, or RAC, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Aegis Aerospace, RAC’s wheels feature a series of different sample materials, helping researchers to better understand how lunar dust repels or attaches to each. Investigations and demonstrations, such as RAC, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
A science instrument flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative is planning to study how different materials react to the lunar environment. Regolith Adherence Characterization, or RAC, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Aegis Aerospace, RAC’s wheels feature a series of different sample materials, helping researchers to better understand how lunar dust repels or attaches to each. Investigations and demonstrations, such as RAC, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, Lunar Module pilot Harrison H. Schmitt collects rock samples from a huge boulder near the Valley of Tourus-Littrow on the lunar surface. The seventh and last manned lunar landing and return to Earth mission, the Apollo 17, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Schmitt; Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan; and Command Module pilot Ronald E. Evans, lifted off on December 7, 1972 from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC). Scientific objectives of the Apollo 17 mission included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast (TEC). These objectives included: Deployed experiments such as the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP) with a Heat Flow experiment, Lunar seismic profiling (LSP), Lunar surface gravimeter (LSG), Lunar atmospheric composition experiment (LACE) and Lunar ejecta and meteorites (LEAM). The mission also included Lunar Sampling and Lunar orbital experiments. Biomedical experiments included the Biostack II Experiment and the BIOCORE experiment. The mission marked the longest Apollo mission, 504 hours, and the longest lunar surface stay time, 75 hours, which allowed the astronauts to conduct an extensive geological investigation. They collected 257 pounds (117 kilograms) of lunar samples with the use of the Marshall Space Flight Center designed Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The mission ended on December 19, 1972
S70-29505 (13-18 Feb. 1970) --- A prototype of the modular equipment transporter (MET), nicknamed the "Rickshaw" after its shape and method of propulsion. This equipment was used by the Apollo 14 astronauts during their geological and lunar surface simulation training in the Pinacate volcanic area of northwestern Sonora, Mexico. The Apollo 14 crew will be the first one to use the MET. It will be a portable workbench with a place for the lunar hand tools and their carrier, three cameras, two sample container bags, a special environmental sample container, spare film magazines, and a lunar surface Penetrometer.