From the core and saw area in the Pristine Sample Laboratory, we will proceed to the Pristine Corridor. The corridor's primary function is to provide a clean environment for transferring samples and equipment into or out of the nitrogen processing cabinets in the Pristine Sample Laboratory. The cabinets are equipped with transfer chambers, or airlocks. These chambers have an inner door which opens into the cabinet, and an outer door which opens to the Pristine Corridor. When samples or equipment are transferred into a cabinet, the outer door is opened, the outermost bag is removed from the item being transferred, and it is placed in the airlock. Teflon overgloves are worn to handle the items once the outer bags are removed. The outer door is sealed, and the airlock is purged for 5 minutes. Then the inner door may be opened and the articles transferred into the cabinet.


The Pristine Sample Vault is located in the Pristine Corridor. During hurricane threats, a water-tight door is bolted into the frame of the vault door in order to further protect the samples in the vault from the possibility of rising water.

The Pristine Sample Vault is one of two sample vaults housed in the Lunar Sample Facility. The second vault is used to house samples that have been returned by investigators after their analyses. Both vaults are designed to protect the collection of samples from damage by natural hazards such as tornadoes and hurricanes.


The Pristine Sample Vault is equipped with nitrogen glove-box cabinets similar to those in the Pristine Sample Laboratory, except that they are designed for storage rather than processing. As in the Pristine Sample Laboratory, specific cabinets are designated to hold samples from specific missions. The samples are stored in stainless steel trays which are sealed with numbered security tags. Two persons must verify that the contents of the tray are accurate before the security tag can be affixed. A database containing the locations of all samples, along with other information, is maintained so that samples can be easily retrieved for processing and distribution. Approximately 26,000 samples representing 75% of the mass of the Apollo collection are located in the Pristine Sample Vault. A representative sampling of the collection is stored at another remote location so that the entire collection would not be lost in the event of a major catastrophe at Johnson Space Center.