EARTH: Scientists reopen a lunar cold case

When Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 19, 1972, it ended an era of manned spaceflight to the moon. The science, however, continues.

Armed with analytical techniques not available in the 1970s, researchers around the country have been re-examining the more than 380 kilograms of lunar rocks collected four decades ago during the Apollo missions. Using new investigations, such as petrographic and chemical composition studies and updated solar radiation and engineering measurements, these "cold case" scientists, many of them young innovators, are extracting new knowledge about our nearest celestial neighbor.

How will their new analyses help us better understand our moon? Read the full story online at http://bit.ly/13idlrU.

Read this story and more in the April issue of EARTH Magazine, available online now. Track the trail of a rare meteorite; study the efficiency of water use in hydraulic fracturing; and see how sand gives Titan a mighty facelift all in this month's issue of EARTH!

Provided by American Geosciences Institute