By Victoria Bell and Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline
Published: 18:06 GMT, 25 January 2019 | Updated: 20:36 GMT, 25 January 2019
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Earth's oldest rock may have been discovered and it was picked up by astronauts on the moon during the Apollo 14 in 1971.
The lunar sample was brought back to Earth for further analysis after astronauts collected it during the third mission to the moon.
Now, 48 years on, experts are claiming that this relic was once part of Earth after it ended up on the moon after large comet or asteroid collided with the planet.
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Earth's oldest rock may have been discovered and it was picked up by astronauts on the moon during the Apollo 14 in 1971. This image shows the rock
Researchers from NASA believe that the impact of the collision jettisoned the rock into space and then landed on the surface of the Moon.
At the time the moon was three times closer to Earth than it is now.
The rock was subsequently mixed with other materials on the lunar surface into one rock fragment.
American astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Apollo 14 commander, on the Moon on February 6, 1971
It partially melted 3.9 billion years ago which buried it under the surface.
Around 26 million years ago, an asteroid hit the moon and created the Cone Crater.
The researchers believe that this impact helped bring the piece of Earth back to the moon's surface.
'It is an extraordinary find that helps paint a better picture of early Earth and the bombardment that modified our planet during the dawn of life,' said NASA scientist Dr David Kring, who led the research.
An artistic rendering of the Hadean Earth when the rock fragment was formed. Experts are now claiming that
