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.
Transferred from NASA to the Museum in 1985.
This object is on display in Destination Moon at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.