June 22, 2006
By Lucille Davie
JOBURGERS have until Sunday to take in a small piece of history - a fragment of moon rock is on display at the Maropeng Centre, north of the city at the Cradle of Humankind.
The black rock, 2cm by 3cm and 120 grams and valued at R5-million, is encased in a glass prism and protected by bulletproof glass.
The piece was one of the samples brought back from the last Apollo mission to the moon - Apollo 17 made the trip in 1972.
During their time on the moon, the astronauts journeyed 34 kilometres in a lunar roving vehicle and collected the largest rock and soil samples of any of the missions.
The 3,75-billion-year-old rock has been brought to South Africa by Professional Risk and Asset Management, who had to convince Nasa that strict security would be in place for its transport and display. After its display at Maropeng, it will be displayed at various schools.
Bringing the sample to earth was a huge undertaking. "The distance from the moon to the earth amounts to a round trip of 500 000 miles [804 000 kilometres], and the costs were astronomical," notes Bob Garbett, director at Professional Risk and Asset Management.
Maropeng is part of the Cradle of Humankind site
The moon rock predates most of the earth's surface rock, and certainly the other objects on display.
Dinosaur eggs
Also on show are 16 dinosaur fossils from the Jurassic period, which are on loan from Wits University's Bernard Price Institute. At 290 million years old, they are youthful compared to the lunar rock.
"We are privileged to have the moon rock sharing the same space in our fossil display area as the dinosaurs and are confident that visitors will be fascinated by the stories they tell," says Dr Mike Raath, curator of the paleontology collections at the Bernard Price Institute.
All the fossils are originals, not casts.
A highlight is the collection of fossilised eggs and embryos of the South African prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus carinaturs. There are seven eggs - one hatched, another busy hatching and the others in embryo form. Delicate bones can be seen in one of the eggs.
"These are the oldest known dinosaur eggs and embryos," says Raath of the fossils, which were excavated in Golden Gate in the Free State.
Last year more nests and eggs were found at different levels at the same site, suggesting the dinosaurs returned to the same nesting ground every season.
Other fossils on display include the Lystrosaurus murrayi, which shows that Africa and Antarctica were once connected, and an early ancestor of crocodiles, dinosaurs and birds, the tiny Prolacerta broomi.
A specimen of the Gorgonopsian is also on show. "The name means 'terrible eye' and when you look at it, you will know why," says Raath. The Gorgonopsian was a carnivore that grew up to the size of an ox. "They did not chew their victims . . . they just ripped and swallowed."
A magnificent sabre-tooth tiger skull, with its famous curved tooth, is also on display.
The displays at Maropeng change regularly and these fossils will be at the centre until the end of August.
"Throughout the year there will be a programme of new and exciting fossil exhibits, all of which have never been seen by the public before," says Chrissi Drunk, brand manager at Maropeng.
Maropeng is part of the Cradle of Humankind site, which is also home to the Sterkfontein Caves, where around 40 percent of all the world's human ancestor fossils have been found.
The Cradle of Humankind was proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1999.
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