39-632: The Genesis Rock (sample 15415) is a sample of Moon rock retrieved by Apollo 15 astronauts James Irwin and David Scott in 1971 during the second lunar EVA , at Spur crater on Earth's Moon. With a mass of c. 270 grams (4,200 grains), it is currently stored at the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility in Houston, Texas . Chemical analysis of the Genesis Rock indicated it is an anorthosite , composed mostly of
78-400: A crewed lunar program in the 1970s, but succeeded in landing three robotic Luna spacecraft with the capability to collect and return small samples to Earth. A combined total of less than half a kilogram of material was returned. In 1993, three small rock fragments from Luna 16 , weighing 200 mg, were sold for US$ 442,500 at Sotheby's (equivalent to $ 933,317 in 2023). In 2018,
117-684: A 12-hour orbit around the Moon at 02:12 UTC, on 8 May 2024. The lander/ascender/rover separated from the orbiter/returner on 30 May 2024, in preparation for landing. At 22:06 UTC, on 1 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 lander/ascender, with the support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, descended from its 200 kilometer (124 miles) orbit altitude. It used its autonomous obstacle avoidance system, visible light camera, and laser 3D scanner to detect and avoid lunar obstacles and uneven terrain. At 22:23 UTC, it landed in
156-684: A large negative europium anomaly . The type location is Mare Crisium sampled by Luna 24 . The main repository for the Apollo Moon rocks is the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas . For safekeeping, there is also a smaller collection stored at White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico . Most of the rocks are stored in nitrogen to keep them free of moisture. They are handled only indirectly, using special tools. Some Moon rocks from
195-613: A probable engine burning. The re-entry to earth happened on 25 June 2024. An atmospheric re-entry module of about 300 kilograms separated from the service module which had flown back from the Moon. This then decelerated by skipping off the atmosphere over the Atlantic before its final descent. This capsule containing about 2 kilograms of samples landed by parachute at 06:07 UTC in the predesignated landing area of Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia . Search teams waiting for
234-723: A total mass of over 1,090 kilograms (2,400 lb). Some were discovered by scientific teams (such as ANSMET ) searching for meteorites in Antarctica , with most of the remainder discovered by collectors in the desert regions of northern Africa and Oman . A Moon rock known as "NWA 12691", which weighs 13.5 kilograms (30 lb), was found in the Sahara Desert at the Algerian and Mauritanian borders in January 2017, and went on sale for $ 2.5 million in 2020. Rocks from
273-507: A type of plagioclase feldspar known as anorthite . The rock was formed in the early stages of the Solar System , at least 4 billion years ago. It was originally thought they had found a piece of the Moon's primordial crust , but later analysis initially showed that the rock was only 4.1 ± 0.1 billion years old, which is younger than the Moon itself, and was formed after the Moon's crust had already solidified. Research has shown that
312-545: A wood plaque which included the recipients' flag which had also flown aboard Apollo 17. Many of the presentation Moon rocks are now unaccounted for, having been stolen or lost . Three minerals were discovered from the Moon: armalcolite , tranquillityite , and pyroxferroite . Armalcolite was named for the three astronauts on the Apollo 11 mission: Arm strong , Al drin and Col lins . Because of their rarity on Earth and
351-441: A ~5kg (~11lb) mini-rover named "Jinchan" (Chinese: 金蟾), or "Golden Toad," due to its gold-sheeted insulating exterior. It is described as an "autonomous intelligent mini-robot" by its developer, CASC . Outfitted with its own micro solar panels, the rover was designed to support research into the composition of the lunar surface, the presence of water ice in the lunar soil via an imaging infrared spectrometer . Additionally, Jinchan
390-535: Is believed to be sent down from the heavens). Moon rocks collected during the course of lunar exploration are currently considered priceless. In 2002, a safe was stolen from the Lunar Sample Building that contained minute samples of lunar and Martian material . The samples were recovered, and NASA estimated their value during the ensuing court case at about $ 1 million for 10 oz (280 g) of material. Naturally transported Moon rocks in
429-417: Is projected to be 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and the ascent vehicle is about 700 kg (1,500 lb). In October 2018, CNSA announced that it would call for international partners to propose an additional payload up to 10 kg (22 lb) to be included in this mission. In November 2022, it was announced that the mission would carry payloads from four international partners: Chang'e 6 carried
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#1732775738830468-557: The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program , the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e . It was the first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon ; all previous samples were collected from the near side . The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island . Its lander and rover touched down on
507-759: The oldest ages of rocks from the Earth are between 3.8 and 4.28 billion years. Moon rocks fall into two main categories: those found in the lunar highlands (terrae), and those in the maria . The terrae consist dominantly of mafic plutonic rocks. Regolith breccias with similar protoliths are also common. Mare basalts come in three distinct series in direct relation to their titanium content: high-Ti basalts , low-Ti basalts , and Very Low-Ti (VLT) basalts . Almost all lunar rocks are depleted in volatiles and are completely lacking in hydrated minerals common in Earth rocks. In some regards, lunar rocks are closely related to Earth's rocks in their isotopic composition of
546-678: The 1970s; those collected by the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program 's uncrewed probes; and rocks that were ejected naturally from the lunar surface before falling to Earth as lunar meteorites . Six Apollo missions collected 2,200 samples of material weighing 381 kilograms (840 lb), processed into more than 110,000 individually cataloged samples. 21.55 kg (47.51 lb) 34.30 kg (75.62 lb) 42.80 kg (94.35 lb) 76.70 kg (169.10 lb) 95.20 kg (209.89 lb) 110.40 kg (243.40 lb) Three Luna spacecraft returned with 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples. The Soviet Union abandoned its attempts at
585-776: The Apollo missions are displayed in museums, and a few allow visitors to touch them. One of these, called the Touch Rock , is displayed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The idea of having touchable Moon rocks at a museum was suggested by Apollo scientist Farouk El-Baz , who was inspired by his childhood pilgrimage to Mecca where he touched the Black Stone (which in Islam
624-407: The Earth return module at 07:24 UTC on the same day. On 25 June 2024, the return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia . The mission's lander collected 1,935.3 grams (68.27 oz) of lunar far-side material including surface soil and rocks (using a scoop) and subsurface samples (using a drill). With the return capsule's re-entry back to Earth, China became the first nation to bring back samples from
663-419: The Earth, large portions of the lunar crust appear to be composed of rocks with high concentrations of the mineral anorthite . The mare basalts have relatively high iron values. Furthermore, some of the mare basalts have very high levels of titanium (in the form of ilmenite ). Primary igneous rocks in the lunar highlands compose three distinct groups: the ferroan anorthosite suite, the magnesian suite, and
702-474: The Genesis Rock is not the oldest sample recovered from the moon, with sample 14321 (retrieved during the Apollo 14 mission) surpassing it. It is still an extremely old sample, formed during the Pre-Nectarian period of the Moon's history. Dating of pyroxenes from other lunar anorthosite samples gave a samarium–neodymium age of crystallization of 4.46 billion years. Other research methods approximate
741-478: The Moon have been measured by radiometric dating techniques. They range in age from about 3.16 billion years old for the basaltic samples derived from the lunar maria , up to about 4.44 billion years old for rocks derived from the highlands. Based on the age-dating technique of "crater counting," the youngest basaltic eruptions are believed to have occurred about 1.2 billion years ago, but scientists do not possess samples of these lavas. In contrast,
780-433: The Moon on May 8, 2024, and entered lunar orbit for 20 days to find an appropriate landing site. On 1 June 2024, the lander separated from the orbiter and landed on a mare unit at the southern part of the Apollo crater (36.1°S, 208.3°E). The mission objective was to collect about 2 kg of material from the far side of the Moon and bring it back to Earth. The Chang’e-6 probe withstood the high temperatures and collected
819-549: The age of the rock to be between 4 and 5 billion years old. Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon . This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon , and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as meteorites . Moon rocks on Earth come from four sources: those collected by six United States Apollo program crewed lunar landings from 1969 to 1972; those collected by three Soviet uncrewed Luna probes in
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#1732775738830858-530: The alkali suite. Lunar breccias, formed largely by the immense basin-forming impacts, are dominantly composed of highland lithologies because most mare basalts post-date basin formation (and largely fill these impact basins). Mare basalts are named as such because they frequently constitute large portions of the lunar maria . These typically contain 18–21 percent FeO by weight, and 1–13 percent TiO 2 . They are similar to terrestrial basalts, but have many important differences; for example, mare basalts show
897-428: The capsule reached it within minutes using helicopters. The service module likely fired its engine for an Earth-impact avoidance burn. The samples will be studied by Chinese scientists in collaboration with international experts. In the previous case of Chang'e 5 in 2020, direct access to samples by international partners started about three years after their return. After dropping off the return samples for Earth,
936-402: The completion of sample collection and the placement of the sample on the ascender by the probe's robotic drill and robotic arm, the ascender took off from atop the lander portion of the probe at 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024. The ascender docked with the Chang'e 6 service module (the orbiter) in lunar orbit at 06:48 UTC on 6 June 2024 and subsequently completed the transfer of the sample container to
975-504: The difficulty of obtaining more, Moon rocks have been frequent targets of theft and vandalism , and many have gone missing or were stolen. Chang%27e 6 Chang'e 6 ( Chinese : 嫦娥六号 ; pinyin : Cháng'é liùhào ) was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in
1014-407: The element oxygen . The Apollo Moon rocks were collected using a variety of tools, including hammers , rakes , scoops , tongs , and core tubes . Most were photographed prior to collection to record the condition in which they were found. They were placed inside sample bags and then a Special Environmental Sample Container for return to the Earth to protect them from contamination. In contrast to
1053-442: The far side of the Moon. At 06:48 UTC on 6 June, 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter/returner in lunar orbit. At 07:24 UTC, the lunar sample container was safely transferred to the returner. On 21 June 2024, the service module of Chang'e 6 likely fired its engines to return to Earth from lunar orbit. CNSA has not provided an updates on the mission. Some amateur optical and radio observers reported
1092-400: The far side of the Moon. The hole left by the sampling was in the shape of the character zhong ( 中 ) which is the initial character of China's name Zhōngguó 中国 . This symbolism went viral on Weibo . Chang'e 6 was built as a copy of and backup to Chang'e 5 . The mission is reported to consist of four modules: The estimated launch mass is 8,200 kg (18,100 lb)—the lander
1131-500: The form of lunar meteorites are sold and traded among private collectors. Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt picked up a rock "composed of many fragments, of many sizes, and many shapes, probably from all parts of the Moon". This rock was later labeled sample 70017. President Nixon ordered that fragments of that rock should be distributed in 1973 to all 50 US states and 135 foreign heads of state. The fragments were presented encased in an acrylic sphere, mounted on
1170-606: The future, we will most likely have to make basalt into fibers and use it as building materials," said engineer Zhou Changyi. The samples were placed in the ascent vehicle, which docked with the Chang'e 6 orbiter-return vehicle on June 6, 2024 China's Chang'e 6 lunar probe, carrying the first lunar rocks ever collected from the far side of the Moon, landed in China's Inner Mongolia region on June 25, 2024. More than 370 lunar meteorites have been collected on Earth, representing more than 30 different meteorite finds (no falls ), with
1209-457: The lunar far side on 1 June 2024. The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples with a total mass of 1935.3 grams from the lunar surface; the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024. The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on
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1248-416: The lunar surface. The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute in Inner Mongolia . The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four phases of incremental technological advancement: The preceding Chang'e 5 mission returned 1.731 kilograms (3.82 lb) of material from
1287-423: The northern hemisphere of the lunar near side. The Chang'e 6 mission landed on the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side to gather more material. Specifically, the landing segment of the Chang'e 6 mission touched down in a relatively flat area lying in the southern portion of the Apollo crater , which itself lies within the larger South Pole-Aitken (SPA) impact basin on the lunar far side. Scientists hope that
1326-463: The preselected area of the South Pole–Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon. The engine was cut for the final approach and a cushioning system was used for the freefall touchdown. At 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender (carrying the samples) took off from the far side of the Moon and entered the predetermined circumlunar orbit. This was the world's first sampling and takeoff on
1365-572: The same three Luna 16 rock fragments sold for US$ 855,000 at Sotheby's. In 2020, Chang'e 5 , the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program , returned approximately 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of rocks and dust from the Oceanus Procellarum, (the Ocean of Storms), the largest dark region on the Moon, visible on the western edge. The Chang'e-5 samples contain 'perplexing combination' of minerals and include
1404-413: The samples by drilling into the Moon's surface and scooping soil and rocks with a mechanical arm, according to a statement from the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The collected rock was crushed, melted and drawn into filaments about one third of the diameter of a human hair, then spun into thread and woven into cloth. "The lunar surface is rich in basalt and since we're building a lunar base in
1443-646: The samples collected from the landing area may include lunar mantle material ejected by the original impact that created the SPA basin, material which can shed light on the differences that exist between the lunar near-side and far-side, and on the origin of the Moon and the Solar System. The Chang'e 6 lander landed at 22:23 UTC on 1 June 2024 in the southern mare of Apollo Basin (lunar coordinates: 41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852 ). After
1482-455: The sixth new lunar mineral, named Changesite-(Y). This phosphate mineral characterized by colorless, transparent columnar crystals. Researchers estimated the peak pressure (11-40 GPa) and impact duration (0.1-1.0 second) of the collision that shaped the sample. Using shock wave models, they estimated the resulting crater to be between 3 and 32 kilometers wide, depending on the impact angle. The follow-up mission to Chang'e 5, Chang'e 6 , reached
1521-502: Was tasked to image the Chang'e 6 lander on the lunar surface and was equipped cameras on both sides for redundancy purposes. Following the sample collection process, "the mini rover autonomously detached from the lander, moved to a suitable position, selected an ideal angle for the photograph and then captured the image." The probe was launched by a Long March 5 rocket at 09:27 UTC, on 3 May 2024, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island . After launch, Chang'e 6 entered
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