24 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE July 2019
theApolloerawasFredWhipple,thefirstdirectoroftheSAO,
andheencouragedmetosetupa meteoritelaboratory.
AtfirstI workedalone.Butonceacceptedtothelunar
sampleprogram,I knewI neededhelp.I recruitedtwofreshly
mintedpetrologyPhDs,JohnDickeyfromPrincetonand
BenPowellfromColumbia,andI enlistedUrsulaMarvin,a
mineralogistandX-raydiffractionexpertwhowasalready
at SAO.I alsohiredJaniceBower,a remarkablyadeptand
adaptablegraduateofWentworthInstituteofTechnology,to
operateandservicetheinstrumentcriticaltomuchofour
work,calledanelectronprobemicroanalyser. Electronprobes
revealthechemicalmakeupofmineralsamplesbyanalysing
theX-rayscreatedwhenthesamplesarebombardedbya
beamofacceleratedelectronsina vacuum.Together,wefive
wouldbetheSAOlunarsampleteam.Preciousvials
WhenI arrivedina windowlessroomat theManned
SpacecraftCenterinHouston,I foundseveralfellowPIs
huddledarounda tablecoveredwithsamplevialsand
paperwork.AlongwiththeNASAresearchgranteachofus
wasawarded,thepaperworkincludedmuchlegalisticdetail
aboutmyresponsibilitytosafeguardmysamples:Theywere
notmine,I wasonlyborrowingthemfromNASA.(I had
alreadytakenstepstohavea smallsafeinstalledinmylab,
boltedthroughitsbottomtotheconcretefloor.)
AtlastI receivedtwopolyethylenecylinders,eachabout
12 cmtall,containingmygroup’slunarsamples.Opening
these,I foundpackingmaterialandtwomuchsmallerplastic
vials,labelled10085,24and10084,108.Thefirstcontained
11 gramsofcoarselunarfines,largerthan1 millimetreinsizeandmostlysmallerthan2 mm.Thesecondheld5 grams
of‘finefines,’particlessmallerthan1 mmindiameter.The
LRLcuratorialstaffhadsievedthebulksoilsamplecollected
bytheastronautsintothesefractions.WithNASA’sconcerns
aboutsecurityfreshinmymind,I borroweda needleand
threadfromoneofthesecretariesintheroomandsewed
bothsmallvialsintoonepocketofmysportsjacketforthe
triphome.
I boardedanEasternAirlinesflighttoBostonwitha
stopoverinWashington,D.C.IntheplaneI founda half
dozenorsootherscientistfriendsandacquaintanceswho
werealsoflyinghometoBostonorD.C.withlunarsamples
theyhadpickedupinHouston.Wewereallpsychedandhad
muchhigh-spiritedconversationintheplane’saisle.Wewere
probablyobnoxiouslyloud.Allthismademeverywarm,soI
toreoffmyjacketandstuffedit inanoverheadbin.Notuntil
muchlaterdidI realiseI hadpartedcompanywiththosetwo
preciousvials.Fortunatelytheysurvived,orthiswouldbea
verydifferentstory.
NASA’swarningsaboutsafetydidn’tforbidshowingthe
samples(carefully)tothepublic,andI couldn’tresistinviting
myfamily,thenourneighboursandtheirkids,togazeup
closeat piecesoftheMoon.ThenextdayI displayedthemin
ourlabforpersonnelat theHarvardObservatoryandtheir
families.Everyonewasexcitedandcurious,nevermindthe
grains’nondescriptgreyappearance.
Whenmygroupwasfinallyalonewithourlunarsamples,
weexaminedthemundera binocularmicroscope.Toour
surprise,wefoundthatnotallofourregolithsampleswere
pulverisedmineraldust,asI hadpessimisticallyassumed.
Thecoarse-finessample(10085,24)consistedofminiature
rocks,eachwitha distinctivetextureandassemblageof
minerals.Wehadhundredsofseparatelunarsamplesinour
tablespoonful!Sowesettoworktostudyasmanyofthose
rock-ettesaswecouldinthetimewehad.It wasn’tmuch:
NASAhaddecreedthatonJanuary5, 1970,allofthelunar
sampleinvestigatorsweretoconveneat theAlbertThomas
ConventionCenterinHouston,Texas,andpresenttheresults
oftheirstudies.CountingfromwhenI pickedupourvials,
thatgaveusjust 110 days.
Petrographersstudyrocksinthinsections,slicesabout
30 micrometresthick(ahumanhairis aboutthatdiameter)
onglassmicroscopeslides.Theserocksliversarecreated
bya rathertediousprocessofdiamondsawing,grinding
andpolishingonthesurfacesofspinninglaps.NASAcould
makethinsectionsandsendthemtous,butthesewould
befewandslowincoming.Sowepreparedourlaboratory
tomakeourown.Soonourlabwasa beehiveofactivityas
wesectioned,photographedandanalysed1,676coarse-fine
particlesinbatchesonslidesforourelectronmicroprobe.tHANDLEWITHCAREThefirstApollo 11 samples,safein
theirprotectivepackaging,arriveatNASA’sMannedSpacecraft
Centerin Houston.SAMPLE ARRIVAL: NASA; PI HUDDLE: THE AUTHORFIRST LUNAR SAMPLES