Lunar Samples Have Been in the Deep Freeze for 50 Years. NASA Finally has the Right Technology to Study Them Properly - Universe Today
, finds the existence of small, volatile organic compounds in the samples fascinating. That’s includes amino acids, which are essential to life on Earth. And, they aren’t just found on the Moon and asteroids. They likely exist in a variety of very different places across the solar system, which is what she and her team want to understand.
“We think some of the amino acids in the lunar soils may have formed from precursor molecules, which are smaller, more volatile compounds such as formaldehyde or hydrogen cyanide,” she said. “Our research goal is to identify and quantify these small organic volatile compounds, as well as any amino acids, and to use the data to understand the prebiotic organic chemistry of the Moon.
The first step was to design and retrofit a special lab for sample preparation. “By doing this work we’re not just facilitating Artemis exploration. We’re facilitating future sample return and human exploration into the rest of the solar system,” Mitchell said. “I feel very privileged to contribute in this small way by developing the capabilities for us to collect these materials, bring them home safely, and curate them for the long term.
It’s tough to pack the Apollo samples for shipment and keep them pristine. According to Ryan Zeigler, Apollo sample curator, doing it in the cold made things even more difficult. But, it was worth it, he said. Ziegler works at thedivision at Johnson. “It’s an important learning lesson for Artemis, as being able to process samples in the cold will be even more important for the Artemis mission than it is for Apollo. This work gives us some lessons learned and a good feed forward for Artemis.
In addition, future lunar missions will focus on gathering materials from the Moon’s polar regions. That means ice crystals could get brought back, mingled with the dust and rocks. On other parts of the Moon, impact sites could contain amino acids or other organic compounds. Those come from the bits of asteroids that have slammed into the lunar surface.
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