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NASA will finally open lunar samples of Apollo missions nearly 50 years after their return to Earth.
- NASA has selected two teams to analyze samples of Apollo 15 and 17 missions
- Some have never been opened on Earth, others are stored in cold stores
- This comes as NASA has stated that it was on track to send humans to the Moon by 2028
NASA will finally open a series of reported samples of the moon's surface nearly 50 years after their collection during Apollo missions.
The space agency revealed this week having selected two teams to analyze the materials of Apollo 15 and 17 decades old, some of which have never been opened on Earth.
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will study lunar samples to better understand the abundance of organic compounds on the moon and how these materials resist the effects of cosmic rays.
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NASA will finally open a series of reported samples of the moon's surface nearly 50 years after their collection during Apollo missions. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin is shown above during the first lunar landing of the Apollo 11 mission
NASA selected the two proposals under the ANGSA (Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis) program.
The space agency hopes to make the most of its previous lunar excursions before its next lunar missions, scheduled for the 2020s.
In addition to samples that have never been opened on Earth, others have been stored in cold storage since their collection in the early 1970s.
"This is a unique and exciting opportunity to use state-of-the-art techniques on lunar samples that have been preserved for almost 50 years and to study questions that scientists at the time might have asked but would not be able to respond. said Jamie Elsila, principal investigator of the team studying volatile compounds and possible precursors of amino acids.
"It is a privilege to have access to these special samples and we hope to contribute not only to increasing our knowledge of lunar chemistry, but also to better understanding how best to preserve the samples returned by future NASA missions."
A second team will study the geological history of moon samples using rare gases to determine their passage time on the surface exposed to cosmic light.
This initiative coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first steps of man on the moon. And in just a few years, NASA says it's back.
In a statement on the 21 billion budget for 2020 released yesterday, NASA's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, has doubled his plan to send humans first to the moon and then to Mars.
According to Bridenstine, NASA is on the right track for humans to return to the moon by 2028.
The plan, which has been in development for a few years, is based on the development of Space Launch System and Orion satellites, as well as on the Gateway orbital platform.
The space agency revealed this week having selected two teams to analyze the materials of Apollo 15 and 17 decades old, some of which have never been opened on Earth. Scientists will study the samples to understand the abundance of organic compounds on the moon.
This initiative coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first steps of man on the moon. The Apollo 9 command / service module is presented during its orbital mission
"Getting the chance to work on these samples is like participating in a brand new mission on the moon," said Natalie Curran, who heads the second team.
"Even though they are Apollo samples, they have never been opened and we do not know what surprises are waiting for us.
"I am delighted to participate in the era of exploring the moon of our generation."
WHAT IS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
The photo taken by NASA on July 16, 1969 shows the gigantic Apollo 11 spacecraft, module S / Saturn 506 (Apollo 11), launched from Pad A, launch pad 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 9:32 am ( EDT).
Apollo is the NASA program that was launched in 1961 and allowed man to reach the moon.
The first four flights tested the Apollo program equipment and six of the remaining seven managed to land on the moon.
The first manned mission on the moon was Apollo 8, who surrounded her on Christmas Eve in 1968 but did not land.
The Apollo 9 crew made a terrestrial orbit around the Earth for ten days and made the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo rocket that would then land Neil Armstrong on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first to land on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The capsule landed on the sea of ​​tranquility, carrying mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, "It's a small step for (a) man; a giant step for humanity. & # 39;
Apollo 12 landed later this year on November 19 on the Storm Ocean, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but nearly 56 hours after the start of the flight, an explosion in an oxygen tank forced the crew to cancel the lunar landing and to pass through the Aquarius lunar module to return to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth inhabited lunar mission of the Apollo space program and was considered at the time as the most successful manned spaceflight until then because of its long duration and the greater importance given to scientific exploration compared to previous missions.
The last landing on the Apollo Moon took place in 1972 after 12 astronauts landed on the surface of the Moon.
Astronaut Edwin Buzz & # 39; Aldrin Describes Moon Module Experiments on the Moon During the Apollo 11 Mission Photographed by Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969
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