Moon Rock from the Apollo moon landing In December 1969, museum
visitors queued round the block to see a sample of rock brought
back from the Moon by the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Rocks from
the Moon are extremely old compared to those on Earth. They
range in age from about 3.2 billion years up to about 4.5
billion years old, whereas the Earth's oldest rocks date from
about 3.9 billion years. Older formations have been destroyed
and recycled by the constant shifting of the Earth's tectonic
plates. Today, a piece of Moon rock from the Apollo 12 mission,
on loan from NASA, is on display as part of the exhibition The
Evolution of Wales at National Museum Cardiff. The precious rock
is kept in a special airtight container filled with nitrogen to
protect it from contamination. At 3.3 billion years old, it is
considerably older than the most ancient Welsh rock, which is
displayed alongside it - and a mere 702 million years old. The
moon rock is the most expensive item in the entire museum. Its
value is based on the c