Fact sheet
10026 was collected as part of the contingency sample from the area immediately in front of the Lunar Module. It is similar to samples 10023-10025 from the same collection area, as well as to other Apollo 11 regolith breccias. Our thin section is laden with basaltic clasts and less common anorthositic clasts (rotation 2). At least two generations of orange glass are found in the sample, one including a relatively large, perfectly spherical glass bead (rotation 1). |
The Apollo 11 samples create an iconic collection since they were the first rocks collected by humankind that were returned to Earth from another solar system body. The Apollo 11 team collected and returned 22 kg of rock and soil samples.
Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on 16 July 1969. An estimated 530 million people watched Armstrong's televised image and heard his voice describe the event as he took "...one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" on 20 July 1969.