1 00:00:04,533 --> 00:00:08,433 ? [music] ? 2 00:00:11,945 --> 00:00:14,580 KIDS: Our world! 3 00:00:16,531 --> 00:00:18,750 EVAN: Woo! Rock on, Globey. 4 00:00:18,820 --> 00:00:22,720 Today on Our World we’re learning about lunar rock... 5 00:00:22,788 --> 00:00:24,890 Actually, I’m not talking about music... 6 00:00:24,961 --> 00:00:27,133 but rather rock samples collected by NASA’s 7 00:00:27,203 --> 00:00:29,498 trips to the moon! 8 00:00:29,566 --> 00:00:31,730 During NASA’s Apollo missions, 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,935 the crew brought back a staggering 382 kilograms 10 00:00:34,936 --> 00:00:38,670 of rock samples from the moon in a wide range of sizes. 11 00:00:38,671 --> 00:00:40,801 Some were as large as a football, 12 00:00:40,805 --> 00:00:43,710 while other samples were as fine as talcum powder. 13 00:00:43,710 --> 00:00:46,405 These little pieces of the moon are valuable samples 14 00:00:46,473 --> 00:00:48,533 that can teach us a lot about how the moon formed 15 00:00:48,603 --> 00:00:50,966 and how it has changed. 16 00:00:51,266 --> 00:00:53,951 So where does NASA keep all of these samples from the moon? 17 00:00:54,021 --> 00:00:56,266 Well, they built a special building to house 18 00:00:56,336 --> 00:00:58,531 the samples... 19 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,765 The Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility 20 00:01:00,833 --> 00:01:03,761 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 21 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:06,165 The Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility provides a secure, 22 00:01:06,231 --> 00:01:10,035 controlled place for the lunar rocks to be stored. 23 00:01:10,036 --> 00:01:13,105 Keeping the lunar samples from being contaminated 24 00:01:13,173 --> 00:01:15,865 by earthly materials is important because these 25 00:01:15,933 --> 00:01:18,411 samples are still studied by scientists all over the world. 26 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:22,246 In fact, the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility is kind 27 00:01:22,250 --> 00:01:25,850 of like a library for moon rocks. These priceless lunar 28 00:01:25,851 --> 00:01:28,755 samples are “checked out” by scientists, carefully 29 00:01:28,821 --> 00:01:31,456 studied, then sent back to the facility. 30 00:01:31,735 --> 00:01:34,810 As you might imagine, sending moon samples around the world 31 00:01:34,881 --> 00:01:37,700 without getting them contaminated is a tough job. 32 00:01:37,770 --> 00:01:40,033 Our World traveled to the Johnson Space Center to see 33 00:01:40,103 --> 00:01:42,198 where the lunar rocks are stored 34 00:01:42,266 --> 00:01:44,531 and who takes care of them. 35 00:01:44,601 --> 00:01:46,766 This facility was so clean that our crew had 36 00:01:46,836 --> 00:01:49,098 to wear special suits to keep from 37 00:01:49,166 --> 00:01:51,298 contaminating where the moon rocks are housed. 38 00:01:51,366 --> 00:01:53,731 ANDREA MOSEY: My name is Andrea Mosey and 39 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,648 I’m a principal scientist at the Lunar Sample Facility. 40 00:01:56,716 --> 00:02:00,020 On a daily basis, I work on Moon Rocks. 41 00:02:02,205 --> 00:02:04,255 We house the rocks 42 00:02:04,325 --> 00:02:06,425 that were brought back from the 6 Apollo missions. 43 00:02:06,491 --> 00:02:09,060 We actually curate them here at Johnson Space Center 44 00:02:09,061 --> 00:02:11,215 at our Lunar Sample Facility. 45 00:02:11,216 --> 00:02:13,731 EVAN: Ms. Mosey, I understand that it’s very important 46 00:02:13,735 --> 00:02:16,615 to keep the lunar samples pure so they can be accurately 47 00:02:16,616 --> 00:02:20,040 studied by scientists. So, how do you store them? 48 00:02:21,075 --> 00:02:24,710 ANDREA: Samples are protected by being in these glove boxes. 49 00:02:24,776 --> 00:02:28,446 It’s a very pure type nitrogen that’s used in the glove boxes. 50 00:02:28,515 --> 00:02:32,168 We don’t touch the samples except with the tools that we 51 00:02:32,236 --> 00:02:34,986 have which are stainless steel, aluminum, Teflon 52 00:02:35,055 --> 00:02:38,155 or with a Teflon glove. We are in the business 53 00:02:38,156 --> 00:02:40,991 of protecting these precious gems 54 00:02:40,995 --> 00:02:44,295 which are from the moon from all earthly type materials. 55 00:02:44,365 --> 00:02:48,068 EVAN: So storing the moon rocks in nitrogen gas and only 56 00:02:48,136 --> 00:02:50,933 touching them with certain materials helps keep them pure. 57 00:02:51,001 --> 00:02:53,100 Well, Ms. Mosey, would you mind 58 00:02:53,168 --> 00:02:55,300 showing us what a moon rock looks like? 59 00:02:55,368 --> 00:02:57,741 ANDREA MOSEY: In this particular cabinet, 60 00:02:57,810 --> 00:03:01,380 there is an Apollo 16 sample that we call “Big Muley”. 61 00:03:01,380 --> 00:03:04,581 This sample was collected by an Apollo 16 astronauts. 62 00:03:04,585 --> 00:03:06,825 It was about a football size sample. 63 00:03:06,825 --> 00:03:10,755 And you can see that it has been cut with our band saw. 64 00:03:10,756 --> 00:03:14,660 No oils are lubricants are used because that would contaminate the sample. 65 00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:19,630 This rock also had a large white crystal on top. 66 00:03:19,631 --> 00:03:23,535 And you can actually see part of it that’s still 67 00:03:23,536 --> 00:03:26,705 protruding right here. It also has features on here 68 00:03:26,706 --> 00:03:29,226 that we call zap pits. 69 00:03:29,230 --> 00:03:31,375 These pits are caused when meteorites 70 00:03:31,376 --> 00:03:33,680 strike the surface of the Moon. 71 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,115 The ejecta is thrown up and when it comes down, it makes 72 00:03:36,115 --> 00:03:39,985 these tiny little craters and we call them zap pits. 73 00:03:39,985 --> 00:03:43,286 You won’t find any zap pits on rocks on Earth because of 74 00:03:43,290 --> 00:03:47,060 our atmosphere. When samples come into our atmosphere, 75 00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:49,995 they either burn up before entering our atmosphere 76 00:03:50,065 --> 00:03:52,563 or they come in as very small pieces. 77 00:03:52,633 --> 00:03:54,768 EVAN: Wow! It’s amazing how much the moon can teach 78 00:03:54,836 --> 00:03:57,933 us about our own planet! Thanks Ms. Mosey. 79 00:03:58,001 --> 00:04:00,471 So, the next time you look up at the Moon, 80 00:04:00,541 --> 00:04:02,901 think about lunar rock!! 81 00:04:04,301 --> 00:04:08,413 Wow! Thank you Cleveland. Long live lunar rock. 82 00:04:09,983 --> 00:04:13,986 ? [music] ? 83 00:04:20,326 --> 00:04:23,528 KIDS: Our World!