Solar System Ambassador, Eileen Poling, has been visiting classrooms with authentic moon rocks and meteorites.
The moon rocks were gathered on several of the Apollo missions to the moon in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Astronauts collected the rocks in different sites so they could have a broad sampling of the different rock types on the lunar surface. NASA stores the lunar samples in pristine condition in Johnson Space Center in Houston. The technicians who curate the lunar samples wear lint-free suits for cleanliness, but they never actually handle the samples directly. The rock samples are loaned to trained educators for two weeks for education activities.
Meteorites fall to the Earth from space. Meteorites have been hitting our planet for billions of years. Most are from remote parts of our solar system. In August of 1991, two boys from Nobelsville, Indiana heard a low pitched whistling and saw an object spinning through the air. When they found the meteorite, it was still warm. Purdue University confirmed that it was a meteorite. The two boys, aged 13 and 9, let scientists have a portion of the meteorite for their studies. In 1996, they were offered thousands of dollars for the meteorite, but they decided to keep the rock they discovered. Other famous craters are evident on the Earth. Many meteorites have the same composition as many rocks here on the Earth.
