Scientists open last lunar sample that was vacuum sealed on the Moon 50 years ago

As humans plan to return on the Moon, scientists have removed the seals of one of the last unopened Apollo-era lunar samples collected during the Apollo 17 mission. The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at Nasa opened the sample that had been kept preserved since the late 1970s and is set to offer insights into the permanent geological record of Earth’s only natural satellite.

Scientists said that Nasa astronauts and engineers at the time had the forethinking of saving this last lunar sample for a future period in time when the technology improves to examine them in a better way than when they were first brought to Earth. The last lunar sample is being studied by the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program.

“We have had an opportunity to open up this incredibly precious sample that’s been saved for 50 years under vacuum, and we finally get to see what treasures are held within,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington said in a statement.