Moon sample: Humans have already reached moon. Apollo program was the first one in human history to achieve this feat.
The Apollo moon mission was so seminal and pioneering that it is still helping the scientists on earth.
They are getting some valuable inputs about the surface of the moon. These are the same samples that returned to Earth via Apollo mission astronauts.
NASA is now in the process of opening one such last moon sample. This comes as the space agency comes closer to the beginning of another revolutionary moon mission namely Artemis. The Artemis mission will be international human spaceflight program. It will see the return of humans to the Moon, specifically the lunar south pole, by 2025.
NASA opens 50-year-old lunar sample
The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division, NASA, maintains and safeguards these lunar regolith and material.
The team will gather more information about moon’s surface, its composition, and mineralogy.
Since understanding the geologic history and evolution of the Moon samples will help scientists prepare for the types of samples that may be encountered during Artemis.
It is noteworthy here that these samples had remained locked so far. The moon samples that are now being studied is ANGSA 73001. These were retrieved from the lunar surface by the Apollo 17 mission astronauts. The sample was carved from a landslide deposit in the Moon’s TaurusLittrow Valley.
Moon sample to help in Artemis mission
The lunar sample was sealed under vacuum before bringing them back to Earth. There were only two drive tubes that were vacuum sealed on the Moon, and this is the first one to be opened.
What’s This Mystery Object on Moon?
The tube with the sample had been stored in a protective outer vacuum tube, in an atmosphere-controlled environment at Johnson since then.
Now, the science team is interested in the volatiles in these lunar samples from the equatorial regions of the Moon. This will help the scientists in studying the Artemis samples to better understand any volatiles that might be present in those moon samples.
Basically, NASA’s Artemis mission aims to bring back cold and sealed samples from near the lunar South Pole.
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