WEBVTT 00:00:04.533 --> 00:00:08.433 🎵 [music] 🎵 00:00:11.945 --> 00:00:14.580 KIDS: Our world! 00:00:16.531 --> 00:00:18.750 EVAN: Woo! Rock on, Globey. 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:22.720 Today on Our World we're learning about lunar rock... 00:00:22.788 --> 00:00:24.890 Actually, I'm not talking about music... 00:00:24.961 --> 00:00:27.133 but rather rock samples collected by NASA's 00:00:27.203 --> 00:00:29.498 trips to the moon! 00:00:29.566 --> 00:00:31.730 During NASA's Apollo missions, 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.935 the crew brought back a staggering 382 kilograms 00:00:34.936 --> 00:00:38.670 of rock samples from the moon in a wide range of sizes. 00:00:38.671 --> 00:00:40.801 Some were as large as a football, 00:00:40.805 --> 00:00:43.710 while other samples were as fine as talcum powder. 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:46.405 These little pieces of the moon are valuable samples 00:00:46.473 --> 00:00:48.533 that can teach us a lot about how the moon formed 00:00:48.603 --> 00:00:50.966 and how it has changed. 00:00:51.266 --> 00:00:53.951 So where does NASA keep all of these samples from the moon? 00:00:54.021 --> 00:00:56.266 Well, they built a special building to house 00:00:56.336 --> 00:00:58.531 the samples... 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:00.765 The Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility 00:01:00.833 --> 00:01:03.761 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 00:01:03.830 --> 00:01:06.165 The Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility provides a secure, 00:01:06.231 --> 00:01:10.035 controlled place for the lunar rocks to be stored. 00:01:10.036 --> 00:01:13.105 Keeping the lunar samples from being contaminated 00:01:13.173 --> 00:01:15.865 by earthly materials is important because these 00:01:15.933 --> 00:01:18.411 samples are still studied by scientists all over the world. 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.246 In fact, the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility is kind 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:25.850 of like a library for moon rocks. These priceless lunar 00:01:25.851 --> 00:01:28.755 samples are ďchecked outĒ by scientists, carefully 00:01:28.821 --> 00:01:31.456 studied, then sent back to the facility. 00:01:31.735 --> 00:01:34.810 As you might imagine, sending moon samples around the world 00:01:34.881 --> 00:01:37.700 without getting them contaminated is a tough job. 00:01:37.770 --> 00:01:40.033 Our World traveled to the Johnson Space Center to see 00:01:40.103 --> 00:01:42.198 where the lunar rocks are stored 00:01:42.266 --> 00:01:44.531 and who takes care of them. 00:01:44.601 --> 00:01:46.766 This facility was so clean that our crew had 00:01:46.836 --> 00:01:49.098 to wear special suits to keep from 00:01:49.166 --> 00:01:51.298 contaminating where the moon rocks are housed. 00:01:51.366 --> 00:01:53.731 ANDREA MOSEY: My name is Andrea Mosey and 00:01:53.800 --> 00:01:56.648 I'm a principal scientist at the Lunar Sample Facility. 00:01:56.716 --> 00:02:00.020 On a daily basis, I work on Moon Rocks. 00:02:02.205 --> 00:02:04.255 We house the rocks 00:02:04.325 --> 00:02:06.425 that were brought back from the 6 Apollo missions. 00:02:06.491 --> 00:02:09.060 We actually curate them here at Johnson Space Center 00:02:09.061 --> 00:02:11.215 at our Lunar Sample Facility. 00:02:11.216 --> 00:02:13.731 EVAN: Ms. Mosey, I understand that it's very important 00:02:13.735 --> 00:02:16.615 to keep the lunar samples pure so they can be accurately 00:02:16.616 --> 00:02:20.040 studied by scientists. So, how do you store them? 00:02:21.075 --> 00:02:24.710 ANDREA: Samples are protected by being in these glove boxes. 00:02:24.776 --> 00:02:28.446 It's a very pure type nitrogen that's used in the glove boxes. 00:02:28.515 --> 00:02:32.168 We don't touch the samples except with the tools that we 00:02:32.236 --> 00:02:34.986 have which are stainless steel, aluminum, Teflon 00:02:35.055 --> 00:02:38.155 or with a Teflon glove. We are in the business 00:02:38.156 --> 00:02:40.991 of protecting these precious gems 00:02:40.995 --> 00:02:44.295 which are from the moon from all earthly type materials. 00:02:44.365 --> 00:02:48.068 EVAN: So storing the moon rocks in nitrogen gas and only 00:02:48.136 --> 00:02:50.933 touching them with certain materials helps keep them pure. 00:02:51.001 --> 00:02:53.100 Well, Ms. Mosey, would you mind 00:02:53.168 --> 00:02:55.300 showing us what a moon rock looks like? 00:02:55.368 --> 00:02:57.741 ANDREA MOSEY: In this particular cabinet, 00:02:57.810 --> 00:03:01.380 there is an Apollo 16 sample that we call ďBig MuleyĒ. 00:03:01.380 --> 00:03:04.581 This sample was collected by an Apollo 16 astronauts. 00:03:04.585 --> 00:03:06.825 It was about a football size sample. 00:03:06.825 --> 00:03:10.755 And you can see that it has been cut with our band saw. 00:03:10.756 --> 00:03:14.660 No oils are lubricants are used because that would contaminate the sample. 00:03:14.660 --> 00:03:19.630 This rock also had a large white crystal on top. 00:03:19.631 --> 00:03:23.535 And you can actually see part of it that's still 00:03:23.536 --> 00:03:26.705 protruding right here. It also has features on here 00:03:26.706 --> 00:03:29.226 that we call zap pits. 00:03:29.230 --> 00:03:31.375 These pits are caused when meteorites 00:03:31.376 --> 00:03:33.680 strike the surface of the Moon. 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:36.115 The ejecta is thrown up and when it comes down, it makes 00:03:36.115 --> 00:03:39.985 these tiny little craters and we call them zap pits. 00:03:39.985 --> 00:03:43.286 You won't find any zap pits on rocks on Earth because of 00:03:43.290 --> 00:03:47.060 our atmosphere. When samples come into our atmosphere, 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:49.995 they either burn up before entering our atmosphere 00:03:50.065 --> 00:03:52.563 or they come in as very small pieces. 00:03:52.633 --> 00:03:54.768 EVAN: Wow! It's amazing how much the moon can teach 00:03:54.836 --> 00:03:57.933 us about our own planet! Thanks Ms. Mosey. 00:03:58.001 --> 00:04:00.471 So, the next time you look up at the Moon, 00:04:00.541 --> 00:04:02.901 think about lunar rock!! 00:04:04.301 --> 00:04:08.413 Wow! Thank you Cleveland. Long live lunar rock. 00:04:09.983 --> 00:04:13.986 ? [music] ? 00:04:20.326 --> 00:04:23.528 KIDS: Our World!