See the Moon of (very) near Montreal

A text of Michel Marsolais

This little piece of rock has a name as commonplace as its appearance: sample 70215. Nevertheless, it greatly impresses the specialists.

"It allowed us to understand where does the moon come from? It was a mystery, "says astrophysicist Robert Lamontagne, coordinator of the Center for Research in Astrophysics of Quebec.

Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program brought back 384 kilos of rock from the Moon, whose soil was Man-made for the first time on July 20, 1969. The majority of these stones are at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Two of them are found in Quebec, including one that has just arrived at Montreal Science Center, one of only 0 lunar stones in the world that can be touched. It is therefore contaminated and unusable by scientists.

The other is sealed in nitrogen at the Cosmodôme de Laval thanks to a NASA loan, renewable every 5 years. It was brought back by Apollo 15. These sterile pebbles continue to give much information to the researchers.

"In 2009, among rocks reported in 1971 and 1972, traces of water were found in stones that would come from deeper crusts of the moon. So there would be water, a lot of water, on the moon, "explains Marie-Michèle Limoges, astrophysicist and head of scientific content at the Laval Cosmodôme.

The lunar rocks also helped to answer questions on the origin of this natural satellite

"The Earth and the Moon would be genetically linked. The Moon would come from an impact of a small planet the size of Mars during the formation of the Earth. The Earth was still hot and melt. There is debris that has been ejected from this impact. From the cloud of debris would be born the moon, "says Marie-Michèle Limoges.

What is interesting is that there are some of the samples brought back by the astronauts who have not yet been badyzed and are kept in a stable environment for future generations

Return to the Moon?

The Apollo program, which cost 30 billion at the time ( about 130 billion in current dollars), allowed 12 men to walk on the moon and inspired a generation of astronauts, including Quebec's David Saint-Jacques.

"What NASA did in those few years still resonates today. Yes, it has followed me all my childhood and it still lives to me, "says the astronaut who will fly to the International Space Station in December.

Humans dream again to return to the moon, but the expertise of the Apollo missions is largely lost since the plans of the Saturn V rockets were largely lost.

To return to the satellite, it will be necessary to invent a new way to go there.