Apollo Lunar Science Conference II, 1971 Commemorative Medallion & Card

Description

Apollo Lunar Science Conference II January 11-14, 1971 Commemorative Medallion & Card
Given to conference attendees by Brown & Root-Northrop Inc.
Please read the back of card to understand Brown & Root-Northrop’s provided services in the Apollo Space Program
Measurements:
6 ½ X 4
1/6th
inches
Condition:
Card exhibits some staining on edges and the reverse. No folds, bends dog ears, tears, or writing is present. Medallion is attached to card and is in Excellent condition with no nicks, scratches, or corrosion.
Graphics:
Printing is Clear on both sides of card and is printed on Heavy card stock paper
Please see all attached pictures
Shipping includes a Tracking Number
The 1971 Lunar Science Conference was held January 11-14, 1971, in Houston, Texas. Although primarily a forum to present results of analyses of Apollo 12 samples and Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) from Oceanus Procellarum, the conference also dealt with Russian Luna 16 data (Mare Fecunditatis) and new information on Apollo 11 (Mare Tranquillitatis) samples.
To explain the purposes of the January 1971 Apollo Lunar Science Conference II, the following NASA History story about the First Apollo Lunar Science Conference held in January 1970, explains much about the Apollo Lunar Science Conference II
NASA History
50 Years Ago: Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference | NASA
Jan 7, 2020
50 Years Ago: Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference (The First Lunar Science Conference)
Less than five months after Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin
returned from their Moon landing mission
with 48 pounds of lunar samples, scientists who conducted preliminary studies of those samples met to share their findings. Several hundred scientists, including all 142 US and international principal investigators for the Apollo 11 samples, gathered in downtown Houston’s Albert Thomas Exhibit and Convention Center for the Apollo 11 Lunar Science Conference between Jan. 5 and 8, 1970. During the conference, the scientists discussed the chemistry, mineralogy, and petrology of the lunar samples, the search for carbon compounds and any evidence of organic material, the results of dating of the samples, and the results returned by instruments left on the Moon as part of the
Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP)
. Senior NASA managers including Administrator Thomas O. Paine, Deputy Administrator George M. Low, and Apollo Program Director Rocco A. Petrone attended the conference.
Beginning in September 1969, the selected
142 principal investigators
from the US and eight other countries received approximately 1,300 individual samples totaling 18 pounds, or about one-third of the material that the Apollo 11 astronauts returned. Although the scientists had been studying the samples for only about three months, they reported several initial findings to the conference. Opening the conference, a panel of leading scientists in the field of lunar and planetary geology, chemistry, and astrophysics, reviewed the state of knowledge about the Moon and leading theories about its origins. The panel included-
Gene Simmons, Chief Scientist at the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Harold C. Urey, physical chemist at the University of California, San Diego,
John A. O’Keefe, astronomer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Thomas Gold, astrophysicist at Cornell University,
Eugene M. Shoemaker, geologist with the US Geological Survey, and
Edward Anders, chemist at the University of Chicago.
For the next four days, scientists exchanged a flood of information from the preliminary results of their investigations of the first set of lunar samples. Because of the large volume of information and the preliminary nature of the results, the assembled scientists could not reach any major conclusions. Some intriguing findings included the finding of more than 20 minerals also found on Earth, possibly indicating a common origin for both bodies, but also three minerals not found on Earth; the rock samples dating to between 3 and 4 billion years while the soil samples contained particles dating to 4.6 billion years; most of the rocks appeared to have formed locally while a small percentage appeared to have come from distant lunar highlands, likely ejected during meteorite impacts; and that some lunar material had undergone “gardening”, that is dug up from below the surface and then reburied. The scientists found no evidence of any living organisms, past or present, in any of the lunar samples studied.
At the end of the conference’s second day, the participants met at Houston’s Rice Hotel for a banquet dinner. Noted British astronomer Fred Hoyle of Cambridge University gave the dinner’s keynote address. Other notable speakers included Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin who entertained the dinner guests with a description of his historic mission, and Christopher C. Kraft, Director of Mission Operations at MSC.
At the conclusion of the conference, several prominent scientists held a news conference to attempt to summarize for the public what new information they had learned about the Moon. Given the short amount of time the investigators had to examine their samples, and the fact that all the samples came from just a single site on the Moon, the Sea of Tranquility, they found it difficult to make concrete conclusions. Gene Simmons, newly appointed chief scientist at MSC, perhaps best summed up the state of lunar science at the end of the conference, "There is a large amount of undigested data and very little interpretation," he said. "You'll see in the next six months many revisions of statements as to what it all means." By the time of the conference,
Apollo 12 astronauts
Charles “Pete” Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean had returned an additional 76 pounds of lunar samples from a second site on the Moon in the Ocean of Storms. Results from the analysis of those samples as well as the additional samples returned by later Apollo missions added greatly to our understanding of the Moon’s origins, while at the same time raising new questions requiring further lunar exploration to answer.
The prestigious journal Science dedicated its Jan. 30, 1970, edition to the papers presented at the conference. The editors of the unique edition dubbed “The Moon Issue” worked with the papers’ authors during the conference to ensure timely publication of the articles. The sheer number of papers resulted in an issue more than twice as thick as a regular edition but one that documented the scientific results of a great accomplishment.
The Lunar Science Conference evolved into an annual event, for the first three years meeting in January and then every March thereafter. In 1978, the organizers renamed it the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference to reflect the broadened scope of topics discussed at the annual meeting. The annual conference continues to attract scientists from around the world to review and discuss the latest scientific developments in lunar and planetary exploration.