This is the
only place in the world that you can work with Moon
rocks on the scale that we work with them and handle them every day.
It's so exciting that the astronauts brought back the samples
and they're here at Johnson Space Center.
My name is Andrea Beatrice Mosie.
I've been working here at NASA for 47 years.
My name is Juliane Gross.
I'm the deputy curator for the Apollo Samples.
My job rocks, obviously.
On a daily basis, I work with Moon rocks.
There were six missions that went to the Moon
from 1969 to 1972.
And we brought back 842 pounds of rocks, pebbles, and soil.
We are studying Moon rocks because we want to learn
about our own history.
We want to learn about how the Earth formed. Where life
comes from. Where’s the water coming from.
And all that information is lost on Earth.
So we need to find that someplace else that hasn't changed
so we can still find that original information, and that's on the Moon.
The moon doesn't have any wind and water and rain.
The moon is geologically inactive.
So nothing has changed. It has recorded everything since its formation.
So it has recorded how the sun has changed over time.
It recorded how much stuff
got delivered to the Moon, like hit the Moon over time.
We can look at the age of these rocks and then make assumptions
of what was delivered at what time.
So the Moon is like a time capsule or a time machine.
We can go back in time and look at it.
The Moon rocks are
stored here at Johnson Space Center in our pristine
sample vault and our return sample vault.
We actually break the rocks, document the samples,
find out exactly what scientists or researchers are looking for,
and we allocate or send the samples to them to do their research.
You cannot actually touch the samples with the bare hands.
If in fact, I touch the samples with my bare hands,
then I'm adding the oil to the samples.
So when the researchers actually do their analysis,
they're not researching what was actually found on the Moon,
they're researching what we have here on Earth.
We work in a clean room lab.
We have microscope that we keep covered with the bag when we go out.
Or you have data that you working on your data pack.
Everything we do here
is to protect the samples from the environment.
You need to keep the room clean.
When your parents tell you to go
and clean up your room, just think about it.
I want to work in the lab with the Moon rocks.
I better learn how to clean up this room.
All the Apollo samples are special,
but they are not representative for the rest of the Moon.
So that's one of the reasons why we are going
back to the Moon with the Artemis missions.
And we're going to go to the south polar region.
The astronauts actually got geology training
so that they could recognize different rock types.
When we train the astronauts, we want them to be able
to pick up
rocks that are representative of that landing site.
But we also want them to pick up
rocks that are very diverse
so we really can get a better idea
of what the geology is like in that region,
not just the landing sites, but the overall region.
And that's why this is so fun, because the Artemis
astronauts will learn from the Apollo astronauts
and they will learn from the Apollo samples to prepare them
to go back to the Moon and pick up
new samples that are more representative.
I've been here for 47 years
because I actually love what I do.
The samples from Apollo, it sparked
what we're doing now,
So we continue to do that same research.
We continue with exploration.
And that is NASA's mission.
If you're interested in becoming a processor of Moon rocks,
you should start studying now
Earth science and geology.
It's a good thing to find a mentor.
There are also teachers and counselors that will assist you.
Don't be afraid to reach out to them.
There's no dumb question.
So you need to be able
to open up, ask the questions.
You need to be present.
But present does not mean
just being in the class.
Presence means participate,
asking the questions, doing your homework and doing all the things
that you need to do to be successful.
No, I never thought that I would work
for NASA.
That, that was like
NASA was this, like, big, shiny
Oh, only like, geniuses work there.
I was like, nah,
I'm not good enough for that.
Now here I am.
Don't listen to anybody
who tells you can't do things.
Or you're not smart enough or whatever.
Don’t listen to them because they're wrong.
Because what that really means is that you haven't found
the right people to teach you in the right way
that is a good for you. Don't give up.
Stay curious.
Ask questions.
Follow your heart.
Just keep trying.
And you will eventually get there.