The object in context
The museum’s 2016 press dossier identifies this basalt sample with Apollo 17, collected in the Taurus–Littrow valley in 1972. It distinguishes it from four smaller Apollo 11 fragments. The Belgian gift was entrusted to the museum in 1973. “Moon rock” is therefore a provenance statement supported by a mission and transfer history, not something that can be established from a dark stone’s appearance alone.
Try this when you look
Make a three-part record: visible material, mission information, custody information. Which part can you observe in the case, and which requires a label or document? Compare the small sample’s scale with the geological history it represents. Do not turn an attractive space image into a photograph of this particular specimen.
Before you visit
Our source is the museum dossier reproduced in a 2016 Ghent University translation study, not a new research report. Consult the Institute of Natural Sciences for the current mineral display. Use Apollo 17 when asking about this object; a generic Apollo 11 query concerns a different gift.
- The object in context: The museum’s 2016 press dossier identifies this basalt sample with Apollo 17, collected in the Taurus–Littrow valley in 1972.
- Try this when you look: Make a three-part record: visible material, mission information, custody information.
- Before you visit: Our source is the museum dossier reproduced in a 2016 Ghent University translation study, not a new research report.
