The first samples of moon dust brought back to Earth for more than 50 years are in the UK – being studied by scientists in Milton Keynes.
“It really humbles me to think that I am one of the seven billion plus people on this planet who has a chance to work with these precious samples,” said Professor Mahesh Anand.
The professor of planetary science and exploration at The Open University is just one of seven international scientists chosen by China to study the samples, and travelled to Beijing to pick them up.
They are the first moon rocks brought to Earth since the last Soviet Luna mission of 1976.
Knowing how rare the samples are, Prof Anand was reluctant to let them out of his sight on his journey back from China – so he carried them in his hand luggage.
The scientists attended a ceremony in Beijing to collect the samples. Pic: Professor Mahesh Anand/The Open University
“I couldn’t risk losing them,” he told Sky News, speaking from a train to Manchester where he was still carrying the samples to show graduating students.
“Today, when I’m carrying one of these samples with me, they are actually in triple-sealed containers. Of course, these are not coming into contact with any terrestrial atmosphere.”
The moon rock samples. Pic: Professor Mahesh Anand/The Open University
Prof Anand has spent his career studying moon samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions.
Those samples were collected from the six moon landing sites where astronauts walked.
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These new samples, collected by China’s Chang’e 5 mission in 2020, come from a completely different part of the moon.
“It turns out that from a chemical point of view, they are very, very different and they are telling us something very different about the moon’s geological history,” Prof Anand said.
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He and his team hope to better understand the origins of the moon and the history of elements that are essential for life on Earth, like hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen.
That work is “absolutely crucial” for plans to get humans living on the moon, he said.
He added: “I have a huge obligation and huge responsibility, but I’m just so happy to be given a chance.
“I want to do my best to get the best out of these samples for the scientific community and for the wider world.”
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