WITH GREAT FORESIGHT APOLLO MISSION PLANNERS DEVISED SAMPLE CONTAINMENT SYSTEMS THAT ATTEMPTED TO METICULOUSLY PRESERVE FRAGILE AND TRANSITORY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS (E.G. SOLAR WIND VOLATILES VOLATILE COATINGS). SINCE THE APOLLO MISSIONS OUR SOPHISTICATION FOR EXAMINING SAMPLES HAS GREATLY INCREASED AND SINCE 2000 THE IMPORTANCE OF VOLATILES ON THE MOON HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED. OUR CONSORTIUM PROPOSES TO SYSTEMATICALLY EXAMINE THE CSVC SAMPLE 73001 AND ITS DOUBLE DRIVE TUBE COMPANION 73002. SAMPLE 73001 THE BOTTOM SEGMENT OF A DOUBLE DRIVE TUBE CONTAINS REGOLITH FROM BELOW 22 CM DEPTH (.809 GRAMS). ALTHOUGH NOT IN A CSVC THE UPPER DRIVE TUBE (73002) REMAINS SEALED AND NOT EXAMINED. WE PROPOSE TO OPEN THIS DOUBLE DRIVE TUBE TO FULFILL SEVERAL SCIENCE GOALS. (1) TO DEFINE VOLATILE RESERVOIRS AND VOLATILE CYCLES ON THE MOON AND TO ASSESS THEIR POTENTIAL FOR UTILIZATION. (2) IDENTIFY NEW LUNAR SAMPLES THAT WILL REVEAL INSIGHTS INTO THE MAGMATIC-THERMAL HISTORY OF THE MOON. (3) DETERMINE THE STRATIGRAPHY OF A LUNAR AVALANCHE DEPOSIT TO REFINE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR SURFACE PROCESSES. (4) EXAMINE THE CONTRIBUTION OF METEORITIC COMPONENTS TO THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE LUNAR REGOLITH AND NEAR-SURFACE VOLATILE RESERVOIRS. (5) PROVIDE AN OVERARCHING EVALUATION OF THE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF VOLATILE-RICH SAMPLES TO INFORM FUTURE MISSIONS TO THE LUNAR SURFACE. MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM WILL BE INTIMATELY INVOLVED IN THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF 73001 AND 73002 CONTRIBUTE TO A SAMPLE CATALOGUE AND PLACE THE SAMPLES AND DATA WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF APOLLO 17 GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECENT ORBITAL DATA.
$1,988,294FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM