Tongs were used to pick up individual rocks smaller than 10 cm. These so-called "short" tongs were used on the early Apollo missions (11-14) and were carried by the astronauts on fasteners attached to the waist of the lunar space suit. Later missions used longer, 32-inch tongs. This artifact was used during simulations and training. It was transferred from NASA to the Museum in 1974.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.