WASHINGTON and HOUSTON, Jan. 30,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a recent study, researchers
from the University of New Mexico and
Universities Space Research Association's Lunar and Planetary
Institute (LPI) examined the shadowed regions near the Moon's south
pole to assess strategies for returning water ice and other
volatiles from the Moon. They examined how sampling methods might
impact the scientific interpretations of materials returned by
Artemis and other future missions. The science team aimed to
identify strategies to preserve the maximum amount of information
from these valuable samples.
Parts of the Moon's shadowy polar regions experience extreme
temperatures reaching as low as 25 to 50 Kelvin (-400°F), with many
areas never receiving direct sunlight. Thus, permanently shadowed
regions can act as cold traps, preserving volatiles including
water, carbon dioxide, and other chemical species. Volatile
materials are crucial to study in detail to determine the sources
and timing of their delivery to the Moon's surface. The findings
were published in a special issue of The Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Universities Space Research Association's Senior Scientist Dr.
Julie Stopar at the LPI analyzed
orbital data and provided information about the permanently
shadowed regions in terms of temperatures and volatile stability
along generalized routes within surface exploration zones.
"The orbital data provide a reliable framework from which to
plan surface exploration for missions like those of the Artemis
program. However, we haven't yet been to visit these areas, so we
don't really know for sure exactly how much water ice there is, or
what form it's in… and what else we might find with it," Stopar
said.
The Artemis missions will collect many lunar samples in sealed
containers and return them to Earth for detailed analysis. Once
disturbed or sampled, these materials are no longer in exactly the
same state as they would have been on the Moon. This includes
changes to the pressure or temperature they are exposed to.
Volatile materials are sensitive to temperature and pressure
changes and can change states if they are no longer stable under
different conditions. Some samples would be best preserved at very
low temperatures, but replicating the Moon's environment is very
challenging. The questions addressed in this study are what types
of information can be gained from these samples and, equally
important, what information will be lost by allowing them to warm
to some degree after sampling.
Bringing samples containing volatiles back to Earth requires
careful planning. Low-temperature sample preservation, or "cold
storage," can be used to reduce the chemical changes in sampled
volatiles during transit, improving the overall science outcomes
later. However, cold storage is technically challenging to achieve.
By visiting the south polar regions and studying the materials
there, we will certainly gain invaluable insight into what's at the
Moon's poles, but sampling and studying volatiles requires aligning
science and exploration goals with sampling and curation
approaches.
For more information, visit
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2321071121.
About USRA
Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of
Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities
Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation
chartered to advance space-related science, technology, and
engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities and
conducts other major research and educational programs. It is an
association with 121 university members. It engages the broader
university community, employs in-house scientific talent, and
offers innovative research, development, and project management
expertise. More information about USRA is available at
www.usra.edu.
About LPI
The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI),
operated by Universities Space Research Association, was
established during the Apollo program in 1968 to foster
international collaboration and to serve as a repository for
information gathered during the early years of the space program.
Today, the LPI is an intellectual leader in lunar and planetary
science. The Institute serves as a scientific forum attracting
world-class visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students,
and resident experts; supports and serves the research community
through newsletters, meetings, and other activities; collects and
disseminates planetary data while facilitating the community's
access to NASA astromaterials samples and facilities; engages
and excites the public about space science and invests in the
development of future generations of scientists. The research
carried out at the LPI supports NASA's efforts to explore the solar
system. More information about LPI is available
at www.lpi.usra.edu.
PR Contact:
Suraiya Farukhi
sfarukhi@usra.edu
443-812-6945
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SOURCE Universities Space Research Association
