In December 1972, Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan collected a sample of lunar soil from the Taurus-Littrow Valley on the Moon before returning it to Earth in a vacuum-sealed cylinder. This sample has remained untouched for the past 49 years, but scientists are now preparing to pierce the container and analyze its contents.
This delayed launch forms part of the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program, which oversees the examination of Apollo-era Moon samples. In this example, the researchers will use a newly developed device called the “Apollo can opener” to extract valuable “monthly prizes” out of the box.
Established by the European Space Agency (ESA), the mechanism was specifically designed to puncture the vacuum-sealed container and trap any fragile gases that may be hidden inside. It is currently unknown how well these vapors have been preserved by the cylinder that has housed them for the past fifty years, but researchers are hopeful that the sample may contain hydrogen, helium and other noble gases trapped in the lunar soil.
By studying this material, scientists hope to gain some valuable insight into the geology of the Moon, as well as learn about the successes and failures of the Apollo 17 sample container. This information will help develop future sampling instruments for use on the Moon, Mars or potentially even further afield.
Francesca McDonald, who leads ESA’s collaboration with ANGSA, explained, “With the technical advances made since the Apollo era, opening and analyzing these samples now could enable new scientific discoveries on the Moon. This could also inspire a new generation of explorers and help them can inform.”
The explanation continues: “We look forward to learning how well the vacuum vessel protected the sample and the fragile gases. Each gas component analyzed could help tell a different part of the story about the origin and evolution of volatiles within the Moon and the early Solar System.”
Apollo 17, the last manned mission to the Moon, was the first to include lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt and a professional geologist on the team. Also in the command module were five mice named Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum and Phooey.
The Taurus-Littrow Valley was chosen as the landing site so astronauts could access samples of the lunar soil that preceded the Mare Imbrium lava plain discovered and analyzed by the Apollo 15 mission the previous year. Now that NASA has a “can opener” to reveal this sample, we can say that Apollo 17 is finally about to complete its mission. . .
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