The Experiment Lab is used for tests and measurements on particularly large or rare lunar speciments. Visiting scientists working with these specimens can take advantage of the Lunar Sample Laboratory's unique environmental controls, as well as the assistance of people experienced in the care of lunar materials. In the past, visiting scientists have measured the heat conduction through unopened core tubes (to determine the rate of cooling of the Moon's interior) and have measured the light reflected from soils and rocks.


Approximately 45,000 samples that have been returned by investigators after analysis are stored in the Return Sample Vault. These samples represent about 7.5% of the mass of the Apollo collection. Stainless steel upright cabinets containing two stacks of drawers are used to store the samples. Plastic boxes are used to further organize the samples within the drawers to make the task of locating them easier. Unlike the cabinets in the Pristine Sample Vault, these cabinets are exposed to room air since the samples themselves were exposed to the Earth's atmosphere when they were located in the investigators' laboratories.

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