"Great Scott" moon rock, from which the piece displayed in the "Out of this World" exhibition was taken. / Photo: Gasometer Oberhausen
A Piece Of The Moon In OberhausenCologne, Germany Mar 29, 2010
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/A_Piece_Of_The_Moon_In_Oberhausen_999.htmlhttp://www.essen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet.ruhr2010.de/no_cache/en/press-media/press-information/detailseite/article/press-invitation-apollo-12-astronaut-to-hand-over-genuine-moon-rock-for-display-at-out-of-this-w.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=505"There is no open market for rock samples from the Apollo missions. It would therefore be impossible to establish any financial value," states Gary Lofgren, Administrator of the NASA Lunar Sample Laboratory in Houston, Texas. This is the storage location for all the samples collected during the Apollo missions.
None of these lunar surface samples is available for sale. Collectors are only permitted to sell meteorite fragments found on Earth.
"Meteorites from the Moon are traded at around 2000 USD per gram." But at the end of the day, that does not become a benchmark market price for lunar samples.
The NASA storage facility in Houston is home to 382 kilograms of rocks, dust and drill cores from the Moon.The exhibit in Oberhausen is a tiny fragment of a very special piece of Moon memorabilia. In August 1971, astronaut Dave Scott, Commander of Apollo 15, drove the Lunar Rover or 'moon buggy' from the landing site right out to Hadley Rille, a channel that originally formed from molten rock.
At that time, no astronaut had ever ventured as far from a landing module. Scott then collected volcanic rock from the rim of the Mare Imbrium impact crater.
This lump of rock weighed 9.5 kilograms and was duly logged into the
Lunar Sample Laboratory and archived as number 15555. It also became known as 'Great Scott'.This name was a carefully chosen one: firstly, Great Scott is the largest piece of rock that returned to Earth on board Apollo 15. Secondly, it honours the work of Commander Dave Scott during his two-day stay on the Moon. To facilitate access for scientists and museums, NASA prepared various items from this large sample, one of which was this particular exhibit.
Researching lunar rock
"Lunar rock was, and still is, irrefutable evidence proving that we were up there", says planetary scientist Ulrich Kohler. "The chemical composition and the ratio of element isotopes is so typical of the Moon
- it is as impossible to fake as a fingerprint." During Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong put Moon dust in his pocket even before Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the landing module.
"For the very first time, we were in the possession of extra-terrestrial material whose origins were known to us with absolute precision, thus contrasting sharply to meteorites found on Earth."First, scientists tested the chemical composition and the age of these samples. Even today, lunar rocks are being researched and analysed by scientists around the globe. "We are still addressing the same questions that we had 40 years ago - it's just that now we have newer and better methods at our disposal. And that's why we keep coming up with more new results," says Kohler.
Scientific treasure of enormous significance
About 100 scientists carry out research each year on location in the Lunar Sample Laboratory while
several hundred more obtain samples on which
they can work in their own laboratories. Every single sample is stored in a container filled with nitrogen, which provides an oxygen-free environment.
Lunar Sample Laboratory Facilityhttp://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lun-fac.cfm