The next time you ’re apprehensively awaiting the results of science lab tests from your doc , be grateful they were n’t routed toNASA . The place way is just now get around to testing sample of themoon ’s surfacethat were collected 50 year ago .
The sample distribution were retrieved by the bunch ofApollo17 , the concluding human - invade moonshine mission . consort toSpace.com , the sample was stored freeze at the Johnson Space Center in Houston before being routed to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt , Maryland . The frozen debris will beexaminedunder the auspices of the way ’s new Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program , or ANGSA .
Part of the reason the open compendium is just now get attention is because NASA plan on next lunar missions with attach to sampling recovery under its Artemis syllabus . As such , it need to better understand the unspoiled conditions for transporting and audit their blank loot . The 1972 samples had to be move while kept in cold repositing condition : -4 ° F. Handling them requires compact gloves inside a walk - in deep-freeze . Getting them from Houston to Maryland while observe saving communications protocol will help the agency in transport future samples from the moon ’s wintry south pole .
“ We bulge out this in early 2018 and there ’s been a raft of technical challenges that we ’ve had to overcome to get to this percentage point , ” Julie Mitchell of the Artemis programme said . “ This was seen as a exercise head for the hills for preparing a adeptness for next cold sample processing .
“ By doing this study we ’re not just facilitating Artemis exploration , but we ’re help future sample counter and human geographic expedition into the rest of the solar system , " she said .
What could scientists find ? Other lunar sampling have contained aminic acids and volatile organic compound , which can provide clues to the constituent history of the moonlight . Other sample were also store unfrozen , give up scientist to look for differences between the two storage methods .
Either way , it may be a right idea to wear off a mask . When Apollo 17 launched in December 1972 , astronaut Harrison Schmitt incur himself having a sneeze paroxysm after beingexposedto moonshine dust .
[ h / tSpace.com ]
