Apollo 14 Earth Moon Rock
Photo credit: David A. Kring / Center for Lunar Science and Exploration via CNN
Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the United States Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon as well as the last of the “H missions,” targeted landings with two-day stays on the lunar surface with two EVAs, or moonwalks. When astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mithcell returned samples from the moon’s surface, they probably didn’t realize that they were reuniting Earth with a bit of its early history. The “moon rock” you see above most likely collided with the moon after an impact sent it hurtling from Earth 4 billion years ago.



This rock contains quartz, feldspar and zircon, which are very common on Earth but not so much on the lunar surface. A deep analysis of the rock revealed that it formed at temperatures associated with Earth and in a similar setting combined with oxygen. It is believed to have crystallized between 4 billion and 4.1 billion years ago, when the Earth was young, about 12.4 miles below the surface. If this formed on the moon, it would have reflected different temperature conditions.

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