On Monday, September 9, 2024, the Federal Circuit received a lunar sample from NASA collected by Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr, the first American in space in 1961, commander of the 1971 Apollo 14 lunar mission, and member of the Mercury Seven—the first group of American astronauts.
This 5-ounce fragment – originally a part of a larger 7.6-lb lunar sample – is nearly 4 billion years old; older than 99.9% of all Earth surface rocks. This sample was collected by astronauts Shepard and Edgar D. Mitchell during their second exploration of Weird Crater, in the Fra Mauro region of the lower lunar highlands.
Portions of the National Courts Building complex served as the original headquarters of NASA, where Shepard and the other members of the Mercury Seven were introduced to the public as part of a press conference in April 1959. This fragment, along with other space memorabilia, are on loan to the Federal Circuit from NASA and will soon be on display in the National Courts Building as part of its new Center for Innovation & Law opening in early 2025.
