Goodwill Moon Rock
Specification
Product: Goodwill Moon Rock
Family Member: Moon Rock
Product Code: MR-70017
- Close up of the Goodwill Moon rock donated to the state of Illinois
- Plague with Goodwill moon rock along with the Illinois state flag
- Schmitt standing next to a giant boulder during the Apollo 17 mission
- Scarp as it runs up onto the North Massif near Hanover Crater
- Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan
- Cernan and the Lunar Rover
All Credit: NASA, Public domain
Overview
Moon rock refers to rocks found on the Earth’s moon. Moon rock has been brought back to Earth by the US Apollo and Soviet Union Luna missions for scientists to study. The six manned Apollo missions brought back the most moon rock with a total of 2,415 samples weighing altogether 382 kg (842 lb). A variety of tools were used to gather the rocks and included: hammers, scoops, tongs, rakes and core tubes.
The Goodwill Moon Rock (officially labelled sample 70017) was picked up by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt on the last of the Apollo Program moonwalks. 
They dedicated this special find to the young people of Earth. Back on Earth, President Nixon ordered that this rock be broken into fragments to share with the world. The pieces were mounted onto wooden plagues and presented to 135 foreign heads of state and the 50 US states.
Schmitt walking the surface of the moon. Credit NASA, public domain
Composition
The most common type of moon rock is igneous, meaning it is a rock formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. There are four types of Moon rock:
- dark basalt (formed from rapidly cooling molten rock fem massive lava flow)
- anorthosite (when lava cools more slowly)
- breccias (fragments of different rocks, fused together by meteor impacts)
- lunar soil (glass like blobs, possibly created by the heat and pressure from a meteor impact)
Chemicals
Moon rock typically contains:
- refractory elements (eg: Calcium, Aluminium, Titanium) which have a high melting point
- silicon and oxygen
Precious metals such as Titanium are valuable and widely used here on Earth. It is added to steel to strengthen it. In powder form it helps fireworks burn brightly. Since it is not toxic to the human body, it is used to make hip ball and sockets for hip reconstructions.
Moon rock is very special, with only about 380kg on earth, but here at Cosmic Caboodle, we have just stocked up on Lucky Goodwill Moonrock and it can be yours by simply clicking below.
The Goodwill Moon Rock
