On this day in 1971, during the second day of the Apollo 15 mission, astronaut's uncovered a rock which may date back to the origin of the moon.
The so-called Genisis rock was found by lunar module pilots David Scott and James Irwin when they dug into the slope of Spur crater, on the flank of the Apennine Mountains.
They were there on the second 'moon safari', travelling for the first time in a custom-built lunar rover vehicle.
The astronauts has so far spent 18 hours on the surface of the moon in three major moonwalks.
They collected 169 lbs of moon rock from 12 different sites including Hadley Rille, an ancient channel believed to have been carved by torrents of flowing lava. (Above picture is of Mount Hadley's steep slopes towering over the landing site - picture: Nasa). But the highlight was the discovery of the ancient crystallised rock believed to be about 4,500 million years old - dating back to the time the Moon itself was formed.
After Apollo 15, there were just two more manned missions to the Moon, with the final manned lunar landing, Apollo 17, completed in December 1972. However, in January 2004 the US President, George Bush, announced a new programme for lunar exploration, saying American astronauts would return to the moon by 2020 as the launching point for missions further into space.
James Irwin resigned from Nasa in 1972 to found a religious organisation, High Flight Foundation, and led two expeditions to Mount Ararat in search of Noah's Ark. He died in 1991, aged 61.
David Scott retired from Nasa in 1977 to found Scott Science Technology.
