SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Moon Rocks Placed on Public Display
The San Juan Capistrano Research Institute this week is displaying moon rock samples collected by astronauts on the six Apollo landings during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The moon rocks are usually at the institute for research purposes, but for this week they will be on display along with a wall map of the lunar surface and photos of the Apollo missions 20 years ago.
“We will be having several schools bring their students over here to see them,” said Doug Nash, a planetary geologist and director of the four-year-old institute located on the 31800 block of Camino Capistrano.
“Some of the kids get very intrigued by the rocks.”
The moon rocks are small samples of powder and coarse soil on display in small dishes about the size of a bottle cap.
Nash or one of the seven staff members at the institute will be available to explain and answer questions for free walk-in tours.
The rocks will be on public display from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Friday.
The rocks are kept at the institute so that scientists there, with the aid of grants from NASA, can study their composition and better understand their history of three to four billion years on the moon’s surface.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
