Dubbed 73001, the sample in question was collected by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission — the last of the program
This handout photo released by NASA shows NASA researchers opening an Apollo 17 Moon rock sample at NASAĂs Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 15, 2022. - The Apollo missions to the Moon brought back to Earth a total of 2,196 lunar rock samples. But NASA has only just begun to open one of the last, collected 50 years ago. (Credit: Robert MARKOWITZ / NASA / AFP)
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 breakthroughs.
NASA knew "science and technology would evolve and allow scientists to study the material in new ways to address new questions in the future," Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement.
Dubbed 73001, the sample in question was collected by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission — the last of the program.