Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA): an Apollo Participating Scientist Program to Prepare the Lunar Sample Community for Artemis

As a first step in preparing for the return of samples from the Moon by the Artemis Program, NASA initiated the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA). ANGSA was designed to function as a low-cost sample return mission and involved the curation and analysis of samples previously returned by the Apollo 17 mission that remained unopened or stored under unique conditions for 50 years. These samples include the lower portion of a double drive tube previously sealed on the lunar surface, the upper portion of that drive tube that had remained unopened, and a variety of Apollo 17 samples that had remained stored at -27 °C for approximately 50 years. ANGSA constitutes the first preliminary examination phase of a lunar "sample return mission" in over 50 years. It also mimics that same phase of an Artemis surface exploration mission, its design included placing samples within the context of local and regional geology through new orbital observations collected since Apollo and additional new "boots-on-the-ground" observations, data synthesis, and interpretations provided by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. ANGSA used new curation techniques to prepare, document, and allocate these new lunar samples, developed new tools to open and extract gases from their containers, and applied new analytical instrumentation previously unavailable during the Apollo Program to reveal new information about these samples. Most of the 90 scientists, engineers, and curators involved in this mission were not alive during the Apollo Program, and it had been 30 years since the last Apollo core sample was processed in the Apollo curation facility at NASA JSC. There are many firsts associated with ANGSA that have direct relevance to Artemis. ANGSA is the first to open a core sample previously sealed on the surface of the Moon, the first to extract and analyze lunar gases collected <i>in situ</i>, the first to examine a core that penetrated a lunar landslide deposit, and the first to process pristine Apollo samples in a glovebox at -20 °C. All the ANGSA activities have helped to prepare the Artemis generation for what is to come. The timing of this program, the composition of the team, and the preservation of unopened Apollo samples facilitated this generational handoff from Apollo to Artemis that sets up Artemis and the lunar sample science community for additional successes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Space Science Reviews
Published
2024-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-024-01094-x
Citations
18
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.97

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article

Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA): an Apollo Participating Scientist Program to Prepare the Lunar Sample Community for Artemis

N. E. Petro, P. G. Lucey, B. A. Cohen, Jill Gross et al.
18 citations
Space Science Reviews
Planetary Science and Exploration
5.97
article

Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA): an Apollo Participating Scientist Program to Prepare the Lunar Sample Community for Artemis

N. E. Petro, P. G. Lucey, B. A. Cohen, Jill Gross, O. V. Pravdivseva, Katherine Burgess, K. C. Welten, A. P. Meshik, Rita Parai, Lingzhi Sun, R. A. Zeigler, D. P. Moriarty, Francesca McDonald, S. B. Simon, M. D. Dyar, H. H. Schmitt, Timmons M. Erickson, A. Mosie, Roberto A. Colina‐Ruiz, D. F. Sears, Mary Thompson, F. M. McCubbin, Z. D. Sharp, Thomas Kröll, John Mitchell, J. J. Gillis‐Davis, H. A. Ishii, A. Sehlke, C. K. Shearer, S. K. Bell, J. P. Bradley, Jessica J. M. Barnes, C. H. Krysher, C. A. Dukes, C. R. Neal, K. H. Joy, Richard A. Ketcham, D. Sokaras, Noirin Curran, Justin I. Simon, Jamie E. Elsila, S. A. Eckley, R. V. Morris, B. L. Jolliff, C. Amick, R. Hana, J. Allton
article en
18 citations

Abstract

As a first step in preparing for the return of samples from the Moon by the Artemis Program, NASA initiated the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA). ANGSA was designed to function as a low-cost sample return mission and involved the curation and analysis of samples previously returned by the Apollo 17 mission that remained unopened or stored under unique conditions for 50 years. These samples include the lower portion of a double drive tube previously sealed on the lunar surface, the upper portion of that drive tube that had remained unopened, and a variety of Apollo 17 samples that had remained stored at -27 °C for approximately 50 years. ANGSA constitutes the first preliminary examination phase of a lunar "sample return mission" in over 50 years. It also mimics that same phase of an Artemis surface exploration mission, its design included placing samples within the context of local and regional geology through new orbital observations collected since Apollo and additional new "boots-on-the-ground" observations, data synthesis, and interpretations provided by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. ANGSA used new curation techniques to prepare, document, and allocate these new lunar samples, developed new tools to open and extract gases from their containers, and applied new analytical instrumentation previously unavailable during the Apollo Program to reveal new information about these samples. Most of the 90 scientists, engineers, and curators involved in this mission were not alive during the Apollo Program, and it had been 30 years since the last Apollo core sample was processed in the Apollo curation facility at NASA JSC. There are many firsts associated with ANGSA that have direct relevance to Artemis. ANGSA is the first to open a core sample previously sealed on the surface of the Moon, the first to extract and analyze lunar gases collected <i>in situ</i>, the first to examine a core that penetrated a lunar landslide deposit, and the first to process pristine Apollo samples in a glovebox at -20 °C. All the ANGSA activities have helped to prepare the Artemis generation for what is to come. The timing of this program, the composition of the team, and the preservation of unopened Apollo samples facilitated this generational handoff from Apollo to Artemis that sets up Artemis and the lunar sample science community for additional successes.

Space Science ReviewsVol. 220(6)
University of Notre Dame (US), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US), Ames Research Center (US), United States Naval Research Laboratory (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), University of Arizona (US), Mount Holyoke College (US), University of New Mexico (US), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US), University of Manchester (GB), Johnson Space Center (US), Jacobs (United States) (US), European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL), University of Virginia (US), Lunar and Planetary Institute (US), The University of Texas at Austin (US), University of California, Berkeley (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Royal Society, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Planetary Science and Exploration
5.97
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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