Untouched moon samples from the Apollo missions will be studied for the first time
CNNCNN — After sitting untouched in storage for nearly 50 years, lunar samples collected during the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions will be studied for the first time, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Monday. “By studying these precious lunar samples for the first time, a new generation of scientists will help advance our understanding of our lunar neighbor and prepare for the next era of exploration of the Moon and beyond,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. The nine teams will include researchers from NASA Ames Research Center, the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, the University of Arizona, the University of California, Berkeley, the US Naval Research Laboratory, the University of New Mexico, Mount Holyoke College and the Planetary Science Institute. The teams will study a variety of aspects about the samples, including completing an experiment begun 50 years ago by studying how water is stored in the radiated environment of the moon’s surface.