FOR A FEW hours this afternoon, the public will be able to see Ireland’s contribution to the space race in the 1960s.
Irish scientists worked with scientist in California in an experiment that flew to the moon in April 1972 with Apollo 16.
The exhibition will be presented by Professor Denis O’Sullivan and Professor Alex Thompson of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
Professor O’Sullivan has been working on space related researching for over forty years and was among the first to study moon rock samples brought back from space by Neil Armstrong.
Speaking about Apollo 16, O’Sullivan said “This was the first Irish experiment in space” and it was a success, the data was brought back and analysed in Dublin in 1972 and 1973.
That data will now be presented in Dublin at the Natural History Museum on Merrion Square from 12 noon today.
Two detectors that were on the moon and brought back will be among the items showcased.
Below is a photograph of the cuff mounted checklist worn by astronaut Charles Duke during the Apollo 16 mission on the surface of the moon estimated at $200,000 to $300,000, at Bonhams History of Space Exploration sale press preview, in Knightsbridge, central London.
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