The Moon rocks

Wernher von Braun went to Antarctica in January 1967, where meteorites can be found on the ice. [1] Some say he went to collect rocks that could pass as lunar. Others note the Soviets proved robots could return lunar soil, so NASA might have done the same in secret.

NASA reports 382 kilograms from six landings, divided into 2,196 original samples: rocks, soils and drill cores. The Lunar and Planetary Institute’s atlas lets anyone follow individual samples from surface photograph to laboratory slice. [1][2]

The meteorite idea runs into a timing problem. The first meteorite recognized as lunar, ALH 81005, was found in Antarctica in January 1982, and it was identified as lunar partly by comparing it with Apollo samples. [5] Von Braun’s 1967 trip was publicly reported at the time as a study of how to work in harsh places. [6] Meteorites also have a melted crust from entry and show weathering from Earth, which Apollo rocks lack.

Robots do not fit either. The three Soviet Luna sample returns together brought home about a third of a kilogram. Apollo 16 alone returned 731 samples weighing 95.7 kilograms, including a drill core 2.2 meters deep. [4] The Soviet Union received Apollo samples under the 1971 agreement and never called them fake. [7]

Scientists still find surprises. In 2006 a Nature paper on oxygen isotopes in Apollo soil challenged standard models of the early solar system. [3]

In 2008 Saal and colleagues found water in tiny volcanic glass beads collected on Apollo 15 and 17, overturning the old view that the Moon was completely dry. [1]

NASA keeps finding new uses for the collection, including samples that were sealed in 1972 and only opened in the last few years for modern instruments. [2] A curated rock can be measured again; a film cannot.