The Apollo 17 astronaut hammered a 70 cm long round tube into the surface to draw out a core sample of the lunar soil. The Apollo 17 core sample 73001 processing team in front of the freshly opened sample at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.” Lunar samples and terrestrial samples are very various, so the Artemis group has actually already taken that into account as they create their tools,” Zeigler stated. Like a time capsule sealed for posterity, one of the last unopened Apollo-era lunar samples gathered throughout Apollo 17 was been opened March 23, 2022, under the careful direction of lunar sample processors and curators in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. Prior to NASA goes back for more samples– this time at the Moons South Pole throughout the firms upcoming Artemis objectives– the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program, or ANGSA, is studying Apollo 17 core sample 73001.
Apollo 17 core sample 73001 processing. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
That day finally came for sample 73001, which was first vacuum sealed on the Moon and after that kept in a second protective external vacuum tube inside the nitrogen-purged processing cabinets in Johnsons lunar laboratory. Back in December 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt gathered the lunar regolith by hammering thin, round sample-collection gadgets, or drive tubes, into a landslide deposit in the Moons Taurus-Littrow Valley, catching layers of ancient history for researchers to read.
This sample, 73001, is the lower half of a double drive tube. The upper drive tube, sample 73002, was returned from the Moon in a normal, unsealed container, which was opened in 2019. The ANGSA science team has been studying its layers of little rocks and soil and aspires to see what the lower half holds.
A close-up of Apollo 17 lunar core sample 73001 being secured of its drive tube for the very first time considering that it was collected by Apollo astronauts in December 1972 at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Before the ARES group extruded the drive tube of 73001, comprehensive scans were taken at the University of Texas at Austin utilizing X-ray CT technology to catch high-resolution 3D images of the samples makeup inside television.
” This will be the permanent record of what the product inside the core looks like before it got pushed out and divided into half-centimeter increments,” stated Ryan Zeigler, Apollo sample manager. “The drive tube was very full, which is one of the things we learned with the CT scans, and it triggered a slight complication in how we were initially planning to extrude it, but we have been able to adjust utilizing these scans.”
Last month, the group first worked to record any gas present within the outer protective tube and, finally, by piercing the inner container, to draw out any lunar gases remaining within.
” We have actually extracted gas out of this core, and we hope that will help scientists when theyre attempting to comprehend the lunar gas signature by taking a look at the various aliquots [samples considered chemical analysis],” Zeigler stated.
An x-ray calculated tomography image of Apollo 17 core sample 73001 taken at the University of Texas at Austin, a member of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis group. Credit: The University of Texas at Austin
The analyses and CT scans made sure there were no huge surprises when opening up this clinical present; and, together, they helped develop a roadmap for the dissection. Prior to the centerpiece on March 21 and 22, deputy Apollo sample manager Juliane Gross also performed dry runs of the extrusion process with a mock-up core in the laboratory at Johnson.
Gross likened the extrusion procedure to putting together furniture– other than with ones arms constrained by the enormous gloves of the glovebox. Extruding the sample using specialized tools needed a careful level of company.
” We did this step by step, attempting not to lose all the small pieces and screws,” Gross stated.
In the end, it was much like a grueling exercise– with pain radiating through her arms and shoulders. However Gross will rapidly inform you that it deserved it.
” We are the first people who got to in fact see this soil for the very first time,” Gross stated. “Its simply the best thing worldwide– like a kid in the sweet-shop, right?”
The Apollo 17 core sample 73001 processing group in front of the newly opened sample at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. From left, Charis Krysher, Andrea Mosie, Juliane Gross and Ryan Zeigler. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
The Apollo program gave NASA the opportunity to try sampling approaches they thought would deal with the Moon based on what worked on Earth– and progress those techniques with each objective.
” Lunar samples and terrestrial samples are very different, so the Artemis group has actually currently taken that into account as they create their tools,” Zeigler stated. “They didnt start with Apollo 11. They didnt go back to square one. They started with Apollo 17 and what worked truly well and are progressing from there toward Artemis.”
And since Artemis astronauts will go beyond the more familiar lunar equator to the South Pole, with its often cryogenic, or frozen conditions, and its dramatic lighting, the lunar soil there uses tantalizing prospects for research study.
Like a time pill sealed for posterity, among the last unopened Apollo-era lunar samples collected throughout Apollo 17 was been opened March 23, 2022, under the cautious direction of lunar sample processors and curators in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. This valuable and well-preserved sample will function as a narrow window into the long-term, geological record of Earths closest celestial neighbor– the Moon. Prior to NASA returns for more samples– this time at the Moons South Pole throughout the firms upcoming Artemis objectives– the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program, or ANGSA, is studying Apollo 17 core sample 73001.
” The Moons South Pole is an excellent location for possibly developing large deposits of what we call volatiles, [substances that vaporize at normal temperatures, like water ice and co2] said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, “These volatiles can provide us hints about where water came from in this part of the solar system– whether from comets, asteroids, solar wind, or otherwise.”
And while the Apollo samples have actually offered NASA insights into Earths natural satellite, brand-new pristine samples from exotic places on the lunar surface– and below the surface– will assist the company much better understand its unpredictable tanks and geologic development.
” We have a chance to attend to some really essential concerns about the Moon by learning from what has been recorded and preserved in the regolith of these Apollo samples,” said NASA Astromaterials Curator Francis McCubbin, “We curated these samples for the long term, so that researchers 50 years in the future might evaluate them. Through Artemis, we want to use the exact same possibilities for a new generation of scientists.”
Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan preparing to collect samples 73001 and 73002 on the Moon in 1972. The Apollo 17 astronaut hammered a 70 cm long cylindrical tube into the surface area to draw out a core sample of the lunar soil.
Like a time pill that was sealed for posterity, one of the last unopened Apollo-era lunar samples collected during Apollo 17 has actually been opened under the cautious direction of lunar sample processors and managers in the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. This valuable and unspoiled sample will work as a narrow window into the long-term, geological record of Earths closest celestial next-door neighbor– the Moon.
Before NASA goes back for more samples– this time at the Moons South Pole throughout the agencys upcoming Artemis missions– the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program, or ANGSA, is studying a few of the last few lunar samples that NASA has actually kept unopened, in beautiful condition, waiting for the day when researchers equipped with enhanced technologic and clinical methods might analyze them.
” We have had an opportunity to open this incredibly precious sample thats been saved for 50 years under vacuum,” stated Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington, “and we finally get to see what treasures are held within.”
