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Moon Rocks!
he Moon is a giant rock, so it made sense that a geologist should
study it. Geology is the study of rocks and minerals, on Earth and
other places. In 1965, Harrison Schmitt (on the Moon at left) was one of
the first scientist-astronauts. Schmitt was working as a geologist in 1964
when he applied to be an astronaut. He had worked with another rocks
expert from NASA and was inspired to try to get to the Moon.
He was selected and went through a year of training. Schmitt had to
learn survival techniques, how rockets worked, and many other astronaut
skills. He didn’t learn to fly the rocket, however!
Tales From
the Field!
WORDS TO UNDERSTAND
biochemist
a scientist who studies the chemistry
of living things
carbon dioxide
the type of gas that is in the air
that we breathe out
pulsars
a type of distant star that sends out radio
waves
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