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Moon rock
Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as lunar meteorites.
Moon rocks on Earth come from four sources: those collected by six United States Apollo program crewed lunar landings from 1969 to 1972; those collected by three Soviet uncrewed Luna probes in the 1970s; those collected by the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program's uncrewed probes; and rocks that were ejected naturally from the lunar surface before falling to Earth as lunar meteorites.
Six Apollo missions collected 2,200 samples of material weighing 381 kilograms (840 lb) through the use of the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container, and processed into more than 110,000 individually cataloged samples.
Three Luna spacecraft returned with 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples.
The Soviet Union abandoned its attempts at a crewed lunar program in the 1970s, but succeeded in landing three robotic Luna spacecraft with the capability to collect and return small samples to Earth. A combined total of less than half a kilogram of material was returned.
In 1993, three small rock fragments from Luna 16, weighing 200 mg, were sold for US$ 442,500 at Sotheby's (equivalent to $963,184 in 2024). In 2018, the same three Luna 16 rock fragments sold for US$ 855,000 at Sotheby's (equivalent to $1,070,620 in 2024).
In 2020, Chang'e 5, the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, returned approximately 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of rocks and dust from the Oceanus Procellarum, (the Ocean of Storms), the largest dark region on the Moon, visible on the western edge. The Chang'e-5 samples contain 'perplexing combination' of minerals and include the sixth new lunar mineral, named Changesite-(Y). This phosphate mineral characterized by colorless, transparent columnar crystals. Researchers estimated the peak pressure (11-40 GPa) and impact duration (0.1-1.0 second) of the collision that shaped the sample. Using shock wave models, they estimated the resulting crater to be between 3 and 32 kilometers wide, depending on the impact angle.
The follow-up mission to Chang'e 5, Chang'e 6, reached the Moon on May 8, 2024, and entered lunar orbit for 20 days to find an appropriate landing site. On 1 June 2024, the lander separated from the orbiter and landed on a mare unit at the southern part of the Apollo crater (36.1°S, 208.3°E). The mission objective was to collect about 2 kg of material from the far side of the Moon and bring it back to Earth.
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Moon rock
Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth as lunar meteorites.
Moon rocks on Earth come from four sources: those collected by six United States Apollo program crewed lunar landings from 1969 to 1972; those collected by three Soviet uncrewed Luna probes in the 1970s; those collected by the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program's uncrewed probes; and rocks that were ejected naturally from the lunar surface before falling to Earth as lunar meteorites.
Six Apollo missions collected 2,200 samples of material weighing 381 kilograms (840 lb) through the use of the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container, and processed into more than 110,000 individually cataloged samples.
Three Luna spacecraft returned with 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples.
The Soviet Union abandoned its attempts at a crewed lunar program in the 1970s, but succeeded in landing three robotic Luna spacecraft with the capability to collect and return small samples to Earth. A combined total of less than half a kilogram of material was returned.
In 1993, three small rock fragments from Luna 16, weighing 200 mg, were sold for US$ 442,500 at Sotheby's (equivalent to $963,184 in 2024). In 2018, the same three Luna 16 rock fragments sold for US$ 855,000 at Sotheby's (equivalent to $1,070,620 in 2024).
In 2020, Chang'e 5, the fifth lunar exploration mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, returned approximately 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of rocks and dust from the Oceanus Procellarum, (the Ocean of Storms), the largest dark region on the Moon, visible on the western edge. The Chang'e-5 samples contain 'perplexing combination' of minerals and include the sixth new lunar mineral, named Changesite-(Y). This phosphate mineral characterized by colorless, transparent columnar crystals. Researchers estimated the peak pressure (11-40 GPa) and impact duration (0.1-1.0 second) of the collision that shaped the sample. Using shock wave models, they estimated the resulting crater to be between 3 and 32 kilometers wide, depending on the impact angle.
The follow-up mission to Chang'e 5, Chang'e 6, reached the Moon on May 8, 2024, and entered lunar orbit for 20 days to find an appropriate landing site. On 1 June 2024, the lander separated from the orbiter and landed on a mare unit at the southern part of the Apollo crater (36.1°S, 208.3°E). The mission objective was to collect about 2 kg of material from the far side of the Moon and bring it back to Earth.