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The Apollo missions to the Moon brought a total of 2,196 rock samples to Earth. But NASA has only just started opening one of the last ones, collected 50 years ago. For all that time, some tubes were kept sealed so that they could be studied years later, with the help of the latest technical … Read more
Nearly 50 years after Apollo 17 astronauts collected rocks from the lunar surface, NASA is finally tapping their samples as it prepares for new missions to the moon. NASA set aside the Apollo 17 moon rock samples to preserve the precious samples collected in 1972 by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt (also a geologist) … Read more
The NASA control center from where engineers oversaw the launch of the first astronauts to walk on the moon now bears the name of one of its pioneering directors. Agency officials gathered at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday (Feb. 22) to honor the late Rocco Petrone, who as director of launch operations … Read more
NASA released a new video today (Jan. 27) to remember the three crews and other fallen astronauts who lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. The agency’s annual “Day of Remembrance” falls this year on the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire of Jan. 27, 1967. The week that follows includes two … Read more
NASA’s last moonbound program for astronauts lifted off under the shadow of a fatal incident on the Apollo 1 spacecraft, 55 years ago today (Jan. 27). Apollo 1 was expected to fly to Earth orbit later in 1967 with astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White on board. During a test on the launch … Read more
The drive from Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex to the launch facilities that line the Atlantic coast offers spectators a beautiful glimpse into American innovation: the gargantuan Blue Origin facility, the SpaceX landing zones and multiple NASA launch complexes. It’s on this path that the now-deserted Launch Complex 34 sits, “ABANDON IN PLACE” spray-painted in … Read more
An online spirits merchant is commemorating the past and future of NASA missions to the moon with limited scotch whisky offerings for 2022. Scotland-based The Whisky Barrel is marking the new year with the release of the first bottling of its Artemis whisky series commemorating the upcoming first flight of NASA’s new lunar program. The … Read more
An image of the Apollo 17 moon rock troctolite 76535. (Image credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center) A lunar rock brought to Earth nearly half a century ago is revealing new information about the moon’s complex history. NASA’s Apollo 17 mission left the moon to return to Earth 49 years ago Tuesday (Dec. 14) and humanity hasn’t … Read more
A rock sample collected from the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 has been re-examined, and the results suggest the lunar surface might have cooled in just 20 million years Space 14 December 2021 By Chen Ly NASA image of Troctolite 76535 NASA/Johnson Space Center A rock collected from the moon during the … Read more