Fresh batch of Apollo 11 moon rocks for Dyar

Mount Holyoke professor Darby Dyar discusses her work with moon rocks on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s launch.

By Christian Feuerstein

Apollo 11, the spaceflight that first landed human beings on the moon, launched on July 16, 1969. One of its main missions was to retrieve rocks for scientific study, but not all moon rocks were studied right away. Fifty years later, Darby Dyar, Kennedy-Schelkunoff Professor of Astronomy, will lead a team conducting tests on previously sealed moon rocks

Dyar spoke to Boston 25 News (WFXT-TV) about what humanity can learn from these moon rocks. 

"Understanding how planets form, how water, in particular, is distributed between planets and moons, like our moon, is a question that has profound implications for habitability, and for questions like, are we alone?” she asked. 

Watch the segment.