Bag, Organic Sample Monitoring

Organic Sample Monitors in the form of clean, thin aluminum mesh were carried inside the Apollo Sample Return Containers on the Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 missions. After the mission, organic compound contamination of the mesh could be compared to contamination of the lunar samples to indicate if the source was the astronauts and spacecraft during the mission or of lunar origin. The mesh was inserted inside cylindrical Teflon bags.This example (with mesh not inserted) is unflown. It was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1974.