Closer Look: Small Steps to Giant Leaps

Photo: Luci Creative

A sliver of rock at Carnegie Science Center is so priceless that it’s kept behind unbreakable glass and requires its own security protocols. This may seem excessive for a chunk of stone the size of a deck of cards but, per NASA regulations, the Science Center must fulfill vital requirements for its care.

This precious object—known as “Lunar Sample 15499”—has been on display at the Science Center since 2022 when it was unveiled as part of the Mars: The Next Giant Leap® exhibition. The process of applying for and procuring it from NASA, however, began nearly two years prior and involved a Science Center team member traveling to Houston to personally collect it.

The fragment spent most of its 3.4 billion years in existence embedded in a meter-sized boulder on the Moon. That is, until 1971, when crew members of Apollo 15—the fourth human landing on the Moon—extracted a few samples from the Lunar surface.

The sample isn’t all that different from rocks here on Earth—containing common minerals such as pyroxene, ilmenite, and metallic iron. But it’s an invaluable contribution to the Mars exhibition because it reminds us of what’s necessary for humans to set foot on the red planet, says Jason Brown, Henry Buhl, Jr., Director of Carnegie Science Center.

“In order to get to Mars, NASA would first build a stepping-stone base on the Moon, and then from that base send astronauts to go to Mars,” Brown says.

It’s rare for any museum or institution outside of NASA to have a Moon rock, partly because there isn’t much extra room in space vehicles to bring back Lunar treasures, Brown notes. There are only 170 lunar samples on display around the world, according to NASA spokesperson Victoria Segovia.

The celestial rock that NASA tagged Lunar Sample 15499 serves as a reminder of the possibilities of space exploration.

“The fact that we sent people to the Moon and they were able to bring something back is absolutely astounding,” Brown says, “and a testament to human achievement.”