What is Lunar Science?
After the Apollo missions returned over 800 lbs of Moon rocks, the work was all ahead for lunar geologists. Ever wonder what they learned?
Believe it or not, only one scientist - Harvard-trained geologist Harrison Schmitt - has walked on the Moon, the rest of the astronauts were test pilots with primarily engineering backgrounds or comparable heavily technical experience. That doesn’t mean the astronauts weren’t capable of performing scientific experiments on the Moon, in fact many portable instruments were deployed and used on the lunar surface with carefully choreographed procedures designed to ensure the accuracy and efficacy of the experiments.
Many samples were collected as well, but there’s lots of special technique that’s required to successfully gather a lunar rock, and Dr. Schmitt was one of the primary advisors who trained astronauts in rock selection methods, and sample acquisition/preservation techniques. When you see an interesting rock on Earth’s surface, you might be tempted to pick it up and examine it directly. A geologist on the other hand would be more interested in the surrounding soil and debris than the rock itself in many cases, as the discovery environment can yield hidden clues to its origin, but is easily destroyed if not carefully gathered.
Apollo 17 finally offered a spot for Dr. Schmitt to land on the Moon, where his years of expertise paid off in gathering choice samples to return to Earth.
Once on Earth, NASA has carefully curated the lunar rocks and distributed them to teams of scientists from around the world. NASA has an entire site dedicated to exploring the science discoveries made from the lunar missions, and you can read more and watch recent panel videos here:
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