Lunar rock escorted to downtown vault for Clark Planetarium renovation


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SALT LAKE CITY — To some, it’s just a piece of basalt.

To Seth Jarvis, the moon rock is an expensive, extraterrestrial piece of basalt.

“This rock is 3.3 billion years old,” said Jarvis, director of Clark Planetarium. “If you want to know what this thing is worth, the best way to understand it is figure out what it would cost to get a replacement.”

The moon rock was moved Friday from its display case at Clark Planetarium to a secure vault at Zions Bank's main office, 1 S. Main. The rock will remain at the bank during summer construction of new exhibits at the planetarium.

The apricot-size moon rock comes from a larger sample collected during the Apollo 15 space mission. Commander David Scott picked up a football-size moon rock dubbed “Great Scott” in August 1971. The planetarium’s lunar rock came from the larger rock.

The moon rock has been housed at Clark Planetarium since 1975. It is one of the few public museums with a permanent moon rock display, according to Lindsie Smith, associate director at Clark Planetarium.

“NASA has declared that even though this rock belongs to the American people, it’s permanent home is in the Clark Planetarium,” Jarvis said. “A permanent loan moon rock is kind of a big deal.”

According to the NASA permanent loan agreement, the moon rock must be under armed escort whenever it is moved from its display case.

Two Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputies accompanied the moon rock to its temporary home.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, County Councilman Richard Snelgrove and Zions Bank Executive Vice President John Stillings also escorted the rock to the downtown vault.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for Zions Bank to try and provide a little creative solution for the storage of the rock,” Stillings said.

Photo: Laura Seitz/Deseret News
Photo: Laura Seitz/Deseret News

Other displays, including meteorites, are not required to be kept in a bank vault. They will be secured elsewhere at the planetarium during construction, Jarvis said.

When the moon rock returns to the planetarium, it will be moved to a first-floor exhibit called “Restless Planets.”

The planetarium is renovating more than 10,000 square feet of exhibits over the summer. Many of the exhibits have been in place since Clark Planetarium opened in 2003.

Planetarium theaters will stay open during construction. The grand reopening of the science exhibits is planned for Oct. 22.

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