As part of the Moon to Mars initiative and upcoming budget, NASA now wants researchers to dig into something that is 50 years old. Yes, you heard that right! After 50 years of being preserved as is, NASA will select nine teams that will study lunar samples collected during some Apollo missions.
Good things come to those who wait.
Teams will begin tapping one of the last unopened moon rock samples obtained during Apollo 17, about 50 years ago. The goal is to learn more about the lunar surface in anticipation of the coming @NASAArtemis missions: pic.twitter.com/hRN5FRnC4j
— NASA (@NASA) March 4, 2022
These lunar samples were collected specifically during Apollo 15, 16 and 17. NASA will also pay the researchers who participated in this task, which will require a lot of effort. So what’s so special about these lunar samples and how does NASA plan to go ahead with the said plan? Read to understand
After laying, since it has been in storage for nearly 50 years, lunar samples collected during the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions will be assessed. By analyzing the lunar samples for the first time, a new age of researcher could advance their understanding of the lunar surface. The said step will also help and equip future astronauts for the next era of lunar exploration.
How does NASA intend to proceed with the plan?
NASA has assigned nine teams to examine the lunar samples and conduct the necessary experiments to better understand it. Congress is said to have provided NASA with $8 million, which would further be given to the researchers for their work. It is pertinent to note that the three lunar samples brought to Earth from the three Apollo missions, namely 15, 16, 17 are practically untouched.
50 years later, @NASA opens one of the moon’s last sealed Apollo samples. With improved technology, we can learn more about the lunar surface and prepare for our return: pic.twitter.com/viFtfj2zbj
— NASA 360 (@NASA360) March 6, 2022
Interestingly, they have not been revealed and they have not been in contact with the Earth’s atmosphere. Of the nine teams, six of them will analyze the Apollo 17 sample, which was returned to Earth from 1972 in a vacuum-sealed propulsion tube. The sample that has been in storage weighs about 1.8 pounds and is kept in perfect condition at NASA’s Johnson Space Center dating from December 1972.