4 chapters across the catalog
Apollo Moon Rock, Big Bertha, Van Allen Belts
Questions are raised regarding the validity of the Apollo moon landings, citing the loss of 10,000 telemetry tapes and the discovery that a moon rock given to the Netherlands was actually petrified wood. A recent study of the "Big Bertha" rock from Apollo 14 suggests it may have originated on Earth 4 billion years ago and was launched to the moon by an asteroid impact.
Asteroid 2019 OK whizzed past Earth at 54,000 miles per hour, coming within 45,000 miles of the planet—less than a fifth of the distance to the moon. Astronomers had not been tracking the rock, which was several hundred feet across, making the "uncomfortably close" flyby a surprise to the scientific community.
A news report reveals that a moon rock collected during the Apollo missions actually contains minerals like quartz and zircon that are common on Earth but rare on the moon. Scientists suggest the rock was launched from Earth by an asteroid impact billions of years ago and eventually landed on the moon. The hosts, expressing long-standing skepticism about the moon landings, find the "Earth rock on the moon" explanation suspicious.
Rijksmuseum Moon Rock, Petrified Wood and Apollo 11 Skepticism
A moon rock gifted to former Dutch Prime Minister Willem Drees by the U.S. Ambassador in 1969 has been identified by the Free University of Amsterdam as a piece of petrified wood. The "rock" had been displayed in the Rijksmuseum for decades. This discovery fuels skepticism regarding the authenticity of the original 1969 moon landing and the distribution of lunar samples.
