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Lunar and Meteorite Samples

Lunar material samples Educators can now bring samples of lunar and meteoritic material into their classrooms. Lunar samples include a variety of rocks and soils returned from the Apollo missions to the Moon. Meteorite samples include examples of the three major types of meteorites - stones, stony-irons, and irons. Samples are encased in clear plastic, providing safe handling and easy inspection.

In order to borrow the Lunar and/or Meteorite disk samples, educators need to attend a short workshop on the security measures needed to handle these national treasures. Included in this course is information on the instructional support materials that accompany the samples. Upon completion of this course, the educator will receive a Lunar/Meteorite Sample disk certificate.

Lunar Sample Set

Lunar sample disks include the following types of material.

TypeDescription
Basalt Solidified lava found in the dark lowland mare or "seas".
Breccia Rocks made of fragments of other rocks that were broken and welded during collisions between the Moon and meteorites.
Highland Soil Fragments composing this soil are from the breakup of highlands rocks by meteorites.
Anorthosite White rock consisting of feldspar crystals. Predominate rock of the lunar highlands.
Mare Soil Most of these grains were produced by meteorites hitting lunar basalt.
Orange Soil Volcanic ash from a lunar eruption 3.5 billion years ago. Recovered by Apollo 17 astronauts.

Lunar samples are accompanied by a copy of the "Exploring the Moon" educator's guide, and a videotape of "The Moon: The Geologic History and Future Exploration". As part of the NASA Educator Resources, the educator's guide may be downloaded at no charge.

Meteorite Sample Set

Meteorite Sample disks include small samples of the following meteorites.

Name Find Location Find Date Mass (kg) Classification
ALH90411 Allan Hills, Antarctica 1990 5.8 chondrite L3
LEW87030 Lewis Cliff, Antarctica 1987 8.0 chondrite H5
Allende Allende Mexico 1969 1,000 carbonaceous chondrite
EET83227 Elephant Moraine, Ant. 1983 2.0 basaltic achondrite
Gibeon Namibia, Africa 1836 21,000 iron - octahedrite
Brenham Kansas, USA 1882 4,400 stony-iron - pallasite


Meteorite samples
Meteorite samples

Request process:

For Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands educators request for Lunar /Meteorite samples must be in writing on school letterhead to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) point of contact address listed below. Request must be sent six weeks prior to use date of sample. Specify the purpose for borrowing the sample, identify the sample disk's storage location, location where sample will be used, name(s) of all qualified users and enclose a copy of the certificate(s) for all members listed as users. When returning sample, it must be sent registered mail, return receipt and insured for a value of $100. For educators outside of this area, please contact the NASA Center serving your geographic area at http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/Center.html.

KSC Point of Contact :

Lori DeSouza
Lunar Certification Curator
NASA Educator Resource Center
Mail Code: ERC
Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899
Voice: (321) 867-4090
E-mail: Lori.s.desouza@nasa.gov

 

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