1. Sampling Moon Rocks

2. Why do we have seasons? Explain. The tilt of the Earth. There are times of the year where the southern hemisphere is tilted more towards the sun and they are experiencing summer when the northern hemisphere is experiencing winter. This reverses 6 months later. The Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on it’s axis.

3. There were six Apollo missions that landed on the Moon successfully and returned to Earth. One objective of these missions was to collect and bring back to Earth samples of rock and soil from the Lunar surface. The six teams returned 382 kg of rocks-over 2000 samples. As we saw in the movie “Deep Impact,” the astronauts were trained by geologists before the missions so that they would be able to identify rocks and collect them.

4. As with real astronauts, you will not be able to bring back all the samples you find interesting. Here is the sampling vial you will be able to fill. Nothing can be brought back that can not fit in the vial. How are you going to decide what to bring back to the Earth in the vial? What are the important things to consider when selecting your rock samples? What questions did you write on your EVA 1 lab sheet?

5. You again only have 10 minutes. You can only bring back samples that will fit in the vials. Lab sheet 57, EVA-2. Decide with your lab partner how you are going to collect the samples. Materials: Numbered bag of Moon rock samples Small vial with lid Forceps White paper Hand lens

6. You will now need to analyze the rocks you have collected. Fill out part two of EVA-2. Use the Moon Rock and Mineral Key to help identify your samples. Please be careful with the key so that the samples do not fall off. Spread the samples on the paper and sort them into groups of similar rocks. Fill out the chart on part 2. In the notes section, indicate the rock that was most common.

7. Share information between teams. Rocks on the Moon are not all the same. The most common rocks in the maria are basalts. Most common in the highlands are feldspars. Some rocks found in the maria are not found at all in the highlands. (Ilmenite) Some rocks found in the highlands are also absent in the maria. (Anorthosite and norite) The two teams in each lab group need to share data and fill in lab sheet 61. Complete part one and two.

8. Which rocks were most common in the mare? Which rocks or minerals were found only in the mare? Which were most common on the highlands? Which rocks or minerals were found only in the highland? Why are there different rock types in these areas? Are your results valid? Why or why not? If you were to go back to the landing site would you select different rocks? Why?