Apollo 11 astronauts used an aseptic sampler to avoid contaminating the rocks and dirt collected from the moon. The astronauts used an extension handle to hold a sterile plastic bag for the samples.
Nonetheless, all the samples astrobiologist Andrew Steele inspected had been contaminated with brush bristles, bits of plastic, nylon, and Teflon, and even biological material from the astronauts. The plastic bags themselves were a major source of contamination.
In total, Apollo astronauts collected 840 pounds of lunar material.
The moon samples are stored at the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, in nitrogen-filled steel cabinets. Researchers must wear three layers of gloves to protect the samples. Inside the cabinets, sealed Teflon bags, plastic vials, and stainless steel or aluminum containers hold the samples.
In October 2000, FBI agents arrested a man in Arizona who claimed to be selling moon rocks over the ...
