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Contingency Sample
Copyright © 2012 by RenéCantin and Eric M. Jones.
All rights reserved.
Last revised 30 March 2012.


1. Introduction
The contingency sample included 492.12 grams of material finer than 1 cm, as well as 12 rock fragments larger than 1 cm. Details are given on pages 17 and 18 in the Apollo 11 Lunar Sample Information Catalog, with Contingency Sample material distinguished by "Cont. Bag" in the last column. Although the Sample Catalog states that "The sample bag was filled with two scoops", the 16-mm film shot out Buzz's window clearly shows that Neil scooped up material at five separate locations. At one location, he appears to have collected only fines and rock fragment too small to be well resolved on the 16-mm film. At each of the other four locations, he appears to have collected not only fines and small rocks, but also a rock large enough to be clearly visible in the 16-mm film. There are four rock samples bigger than 10 grams: 10021 (250 gm), 10022 ( 95.59 gm), 10023 (66 gm), and 10024 (68.12 gm). It is tempting to identify these four as the four rocks visible in the 16-mm film that Neil appears to have collected. Tentative identifications are indicated below in labeled versions of AS11-39-5777, a photo Buzz took out his window before the EVA, and AS11-40-5857, a frame Neil took from near the ladder before he collected the Contingency Sample.