Moon Rock

space · geology · moon exploration

Brought from the Moon. Astronauts on Apollo missions collected 842 pounds of moon rocks between 1969 and 1972. Scientists still study these precious samples today to learn how the Moon formed and what it's made of.

Natural space travelers. Some moon rocks travel to Earth all by themselves. When asteroids crash into the Moon, they blast rocks into space, and some eventually fall to Earth as lunar meteorites.

Ancient and special. Moon rocks are billions of years old, older than most rocks on Earth. They tell us stories about the early solar system and help scientists understand how planets and moons were born.

Guarded treasure. Moon rocks are kept in special labs and museums, like the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Some are so rare that scientists can only study tiny pieces of them.

Look different from Earth rocks. Moon rocks are darker and denser than most Earth rocks, and they have no water or fossils inside them. You can tell a moon rock apart because it's been shaped by billions of years in the airless, waterless Moon environment.