Out of this world
Glacier High School science teacher Jaret Stump has students look at meteorite and moon samples on May 5. The samples are on loan from NASA. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
A Glacier astronomy student looks at moon and meteorite samples loaned to the school by NASA and compare them to rocks found on Earth on May 5. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
There is a finite number of moon rock samples on Earth, making the opportunity to handle them unique.
Roughly 882 pounds of lunar materials — rocks and soil (regolith) — was brought back to Earth between 1968 to 1972 by Apollo astronauts who were trained in geology, according to NASA.
Recently, students in Glacier High School teacher Jaret Stump’s astronomy class were able to look at lunar and meteorite samples on special loan from NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
“Kids were amazed at the opportunity to hold in your hand, rocks that came from a different place in the solar system,” Stump said.
Students were able to compare the astromaterials to Earth’s, having studied different qualities and elements of both in class.
The meteorite samples were collected on Earth from far-reaching locations such as Africa, Antarctica, Mexico and Kansas.
What also is exciting about the meteorite samples is that a couple of them were found back in 1836 and 1882.
“There are three types of meteorites, ‘stony’ — made out of rock, ‘iron,’ — made out of iron and nickel and a mixture of the two. When looking under the microscope it’s really an astounding thing to see not only space rock, but earth minerals we study in class share similarities,” Stump said.
The lunar samples included three soils and three rocks such as basalt, which is “solidified lava found in the dark lowland mare or ‘seas,’” and breccia, which are “rocks made of fragments of other rocks that were broken and welded during collisions between the moon and meteorites,” according to NASA.
To protect and preserve the astromaterials, the tiny samples are encased in two, six-inch diameter Lucite disks.
Stump and some of the students found the meteorite samples fascinating to look at, particularly the stony-iron meteorites.
“It’s amazing how closely meteorites resemble things we find on Earth — same with lunar rocks. Scientists are thinking they’re [meteorites] the leftovers from the solar system formation.”
To get the lunar and meteorite sample packages from NASA, Stump had to complete a NASA Certification Workshop in December.
Samples are relegated to the scientific and educational community.
“What scientists want to do is vaporize it and see the elements,” Stump said.
Getting samples can take some time.
“I applied back in January and got them in May,” Stump said adding that it’s worth the wait. “I think the best things for teachers to do is provide opportunities.”
The astromaterials are being shipped back to NASA this week. Stump is hoping to get the materials loaned next year and set up a public viewing, which would take an extra step of adding security.
The Lunar and Meteorite Sample Disk Program, sponsored through the NASA Astomaterials Curation Office, is offered to schools, museums and libraries that work with kindergarten through 12th grade.
For more information about the program visit curator.jsc.nasa.gov.
Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.