Meteorites and samples of moon rocks landed in Rickmansworth last week, giving pupils the chance to touch a piece of Space.

Pupils at Rickmansworth School, Park Road, were able look at and touch hand-sized meteorites during a week-long visit of different samples collected by scientists.

The UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) sends out education packs to schools and other educational establishments.

Included in the education pack is a 1.2 billion year-old piece of Mars and 4.3 billion year-old nickel meteorite.

Professor John Womersley, the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Chief Executive Officer said: "This is a great opportunity for young people to be able to see, touch and really experience such important and exciting messengers from space -turning science fiction into science fact.

"It is an unforgettable experience to be able to hold such an important part of science history that has made such an incredible journey over millions of miles to reach us - and one we hope will inspire the scientists of the future."

The lunar samples, provided by the STFC were collected in the late 1960s and early 1970s during some of NASA’s first manned space missions to the Moon.

A massive 382kg of lunar material was brought back to Earth - mostly for use by scientists in their studies of the Moon, but small quantities are used to develop lunar and planetary sciences educational packages.