Soil Sampler, Contingency, Apollo

The Contingency Soil Sampler was a device intended to enable astronauts to quickly take a soil sample soon after stepping onto the lunar surface. The sample was taken near the Lunar Module and stored for ascent to insure that some lunar soil would be returned to Earth in the event of an emergency. A contingency sampler was taken on Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15. This particular unit was not flown on a mission but was used for training.NASA transferred it to the Smithsonian in December 1974.