[meteorite-list] NPA 04-16-1969 Elbert King Launches Meteorite Hunt

[MARK BOSTICK]

Paper: Lima News
City: Lima, Ohio
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 1969
Page: 6

Space Scientists Launch Rock Hunt

By ROBERT D. DePIANTE

World Book Science Service

     Like a "Help Wanted" ad, the notice in the lobby of the Lunar Receiving 
Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston reads:

HELP NEEDED
Let NASA Examine Your Meteorite Specimens

     The only scientific lab of its kind in the world uses that small sign 
to ask Americans' help in getting ready for its impending work of analyzing 
matter from out of this world.
     First, rocks from the moon; then - perhaps before the end of the 
century - material from other planets.
     Dr. Elbert A. King, curator of the LRL, explains it this way: "The 
examination of meteorites prior to the moon landing will give our scientist 
practice, and allow us to compare material found in meteorites on Earth with 
material the astronauts bring back from the moon.
     Dr. King, and the other scientists at the lab are especially anxious to 
get recently fallen meteorites.
     "The people most likely to find them are farmers," he explains. "If a 
farmer happens across a new rock some morning when he's plowing a field - a 
rock that wasn't there last time he plowed - it could be a meteorite, and 
we'd love to get our hands on it."
      But the interest of the scientist isn't limited to recently fallen 
specimens.
     "Any kind of meteorite will do" Dr. King says, "and we only need a 
small sample of it - about one ounce - to make our tests.  Of course, we'd 
like to get the entire specimen, but if the person who has an object they 
suspect to be a meteorite just chips off a small bit that will do fine.  
Meteorites should be mailed to our lab." The address:
     Dr. E. A. King, TH; Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Manned Spacecraft 
Center, Houston, Texas 77058.
     As many as 200 million visible meteors enter Earth's atmosphere every 
day.  Those that reach the surface before burning up are called meteorites, 
and scientists estimate that these bodies add more than two million pounds a 
day to the Earth's weight.
     How do you determine if a rock is a meteorite? Dr. King explains: 
Meteorites are classified as either iron, stony, or stony-iron.  An iron 
meteorite is easily recognized because of its metallic appearance and heavy 
weight.  It is generally rusty looking and irregular in shape, and has 
smooth depressions.
     Stony meteorites are more difficult to recognize.  They are generally 
heavier than most rocks and the surface is usually brown or black.  Most of 
the time, these meteorites have a crust, formed by the surface melting when 
the meteorite passed through the atmosphere. Freshly broken or cut stony 
meteorites commonly show tiny specks of metal.
     Of particular interest to NASA scientists are those meteorites which 
may have been dislodged from the moon.  Scientists believe that fragments of 
the lunar surface are dislodged when meteoroids from other parts of the 
solar system strike the moon at high velocity.  Some of these particles are 
then caught up in Earth gravity, and hit the surface as meteorites.  
Scientists have estimated that as much as 1-500th of all meteoritic material 
that reaches Earth has originated on the moon.
     Why do NASA scientists want meteorites?  Because their origin is 
difficult to determine, critical analyses of their structure, composition, 
and physical characteristics are of great importance.  Some meteorites have 
been exposed to long periods of intense cosmic and solar radiation while in 
space.  If experiments could be performed on recently fallen meteorites, 
they would yield valuable information about radiation in space and could 
materially aid in planning for long - duration space missions. Immediate 
laboratory examination of meteorites splashed off the lunar surface would be 
useful in extending our knowledge of the moon.
     Samples are cut and ground into thin slices (00012 in.) in the 
laboratory.  They are then examined with microscopes using polarized light.  
Further analyses determine the specific structure, composition, and identify 
of matter within the meteorite specimen.
     Dr. King says that any samples sent to the lab would be returned after 
initial testing.  If the owner so desires, the specimen would not be 
damaged.  Each contributor will be notified of the identification of his 
specimen.
     Objects which are found to be meteorites will be named after the town 
closest to the area were they were found and, if permitted, will be made 
part of the permanent collection at the Lunar Receiving Lab.

(end)