NASA Is Opening A 50-Year Vacuum-Sealed Tube Of Lunar Soil And Gas – Teach Me About Science

NASA is opening a 50-year vacuum-sealed lunar sample. (Credit: NASA/James Blair/Robert Markowitz).

The arrival of man on the Moon was one of the most important achievements in the entire history of space exploration. Since then, scientists have been studying the samples that were returned to Earth with the Apollo missions, although some of them were stored in a private way and have been kept unopened in order to take advantage of current technology.

Now, NASA is opening one of only two samples that were vacuum sealed on the Moon 50 years ago. When the Apollo astronauts returned these samples, the agency had the foresight to keep them unopened. “People say that good things come to those who wait,” read in a statement. He also mentions that this will allow us to learn more regarding the Moon and, therefore, contribute to the preparation of the return of humans to its surface.

“The agency knew that science and technology would evolve and allow scientists to study the material in new ways to address new questions in the future,” says Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Sciences Division at NASA Headquarters. “The ANGSA initiative was designed to examine these specially stored and sealed samples.”

The sample, nicknamed 73001, was collected by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission (the last of the program), stored and sealed in a tube 35 cm long and 4 cm wide. The sample in question is being opened at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston by the Astromaterials Exploration and Research Science (ARES) Division, which safeguards, studies and shares NASA’s extraterrestrial sample collection.

According to the NASA statement, this work is being led by the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA), a scientific team that aims to learn more regarding the sample and the lunar surface before upcoming missions. Artemis at the South Pole of the Moon.

“Understanding the geological history and evolution of lunar samples at the Apollo landing sites will help us prepare for the types of samples that may be found during Artemis,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Artemis intends to bring cold, sealed samples from near the lunar South Pole. This is an exciting learning opportunity to understand the tools needed to collect and transport these samples, to analyze them, and to store them on Earth for future generations of scientists.”

The process takes several months and began on February 11, when the team began by first opening the outer protective tube and capturing any gas inside. Fortunately, no gases were found in the outer container, indicating that the seal on the inner sample tube should have remained intact.

By February 23, scientists began the next step: a several-week process to drill into the inner container and slowly collect the lunar gases that are hopefully still inside. Once the gas extraction process is complete, the Astromaterials Exploration Research and Science (ARES) Division team will prepare to carefully remove the soil and rocks from its container, likely later this spring.

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