NASA is ready to open a 50-year-old moon rock. Are you?
By the end of the six Apollo missions that took place from 1969-72, astronauts brought back a total of 842 pounds of rocks and dust from the moon. Of the 2,200 samples, NASA scientists started studying all but two samples, which were left untouched and unopened. Now, after more than five decades of preservation, they’ve opened them!
Lori Glaze, director, NASA’s Planetary Science Division explained that anticipating the advancements in science and technology that would help the scientists study the samples in a new way, the samples had been vacuum-packed.
The astronauts on Apollo 17 had collected the samples from a landslide deposit on the moon. They had stored it in a 14-inch-long tube and had sealed it while still on the lunar surface, which was unique. Both the samples were further stored in a larger vessel which had a customized environment to retain their properties over the years.
After working on developing the right equipment for over three years, NASA opened the outer vessel at the beginning of February 2022. The team confirmed that the vessel was perfectly sealed – the gases that released on opening the vessel were precisely the ones the scientists had expected.
The activity is part of NASA’s preparation for its Artemis program in which the first woman and the first person of color will be sent to the moon and is scheduled for 2025. The study of the lunar collection from the Apollo missions has given significant insights to scientists. Observing and studying the two remaining samples might reveal novel facts or break the established norms. Moreover, this will help the Artemis astronauts learn how to seal their samples, rework their strategies, and prepare well for their mission.
“This is an exciting learning opportunity to understand the tools needed for collecting and transporting these samples, for analyzing them, and for storing them on Earth for future generations of scientists,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for science, NASA.2
The next milestone is to separate moon rock samples, gases, and soil, which the ARES team (Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science) aims to complete by the summer of 2022.
We’ve seen (of course, in the movies) how opening nuts, caskets and secret chambers bring noteworthy changes in the world. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see what cracking open a moon rock vessel has in store? Stay tuned to know more!
References:
1. Plain, C. NASA Studies ‘New’ 50-Year-Old Lunar Sample to Prep for Return to Moon. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-studies-new-50-year-old-lunar-sample-to-prep-for-return-to-moon (2022).
2. Glaze, L. NASA opens vacuum-sealed moon rock container from 50 years ago. NASA. https://bigthink.com/hard-science/nasa-moon-rock/ (2022).
3. What is Artemis? NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/what-is-artemis (2019).
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