Scientists Take New Look at Moon Rocks

What could be more exciting than opening presents as a kid on Christmas morning? How about opening a moon rock which has gone untouched since the Apollo era?
On November 5, scientists at NASA’s Lunar Curation Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas finally opened a tube containing samples from Apollo 17. The rocks were gathered by astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt in December, 1972 using a 1.5-inch-wide (four-centimeter) “drive” tube.
The research is part of the space agency’s Apollo Next-Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) project, which will be using new state-of-the-art technologies to take another look at the samples. Upon return, NASA had decided to keep some of the rocks socked away to be studied when technology had advanced past the means at the time.
Lovingly coined “sample 73002”, the 15-ounce (430-gram) sample was collected as part of a core sample taken near the rim of Lara Crater, located in Taurus-Littrow valley of the moon. The team performing the research will spend the next several months distributing it to those scientists participating in ANGSA.
“We are able to make measurements today that were just not possible during the years of the Apollo program,” Sarah Noble, ANGSA program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. “The analysis of these samples will maximize the science return from Apollo, as well as enable a new generation of scientists and curators to refine their techniques and help prepare future explorers for lunar missions anticipated in the 2020s and beyond.”
The opening of the tube is in service to the upcoming Artemis program which aims to put a man and woman on the moon by 2024. With luck, they will be the first of many in an attempt at a sustained presence by 2028. The moon has been planned as a jumping off point for future Mars missions.
Another core sample, 73001, will be opened in early 2020 once scientists have fine-tuned ways to capture the gases which are trapped in the container along with the soil.
Over the course of six moon landings, a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of moon rock and regolith (or soil) were returned to Earth. Most of these have been housed at JSC.