Astronauts Took Odd Sample From The Moon That May Prove How The World Began
In February 1971 American astronaut Alan Shepard was gathering samples on the Moon’s surface. And in the midst of his adventure he noticed a rock that was more common than any other in sight. Shepard and his accomplice Edgar Mitchell then managed to get the boulder aboard their spacecraft. The men then aimed to take the stone home for analysis – hopefully to unlock some of its incredible secrets.
One Big Rock
This particular piece of space rock was officially called 14321, but it is more commonly known as Big Bertha. And we can see just how it picked up this moniker if we consider its size. The stone was much larger than any other collected during this mission – weighing in at almost 20 pounds.
A Strange History
Of course, Shepard recognized that Big Bertha was an important specimen all those years ago, but it wouldn’t be until nearly half a century later that all its secrets were finally revealed. A piece of research published 48 years down the line put forth an incredible theory. Big Bertha, it seems, has an even stranger origin story than anyone could have predicted.
Apollo 14
Shepard and Mitchell had been a part of the Apollo 14 mission, which was the third undertaking to touch down upon the Moon. And throughout its duration, crew members from Apollo 14 walked along the surface of the natural satellite on two separate occasions.
A Three Man Team
The Apollo 14 mission’s leader was Shepard (the first American to reach space, but not the moon) with Mitchell and Stuart Roosa making up the rest of the three-man team. The trio left Earth on the final day of January 1971 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. February 1971 would prove to be the strangest month in any of their lives.
