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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Testing and Resilience of the Impact Origin of the Moon

The leading hypothesis for the origin of the Moon is the giant impact model, which grew out of the post-Apollo science community. The hypothesis was able to explain the high E-M system angular momentum, the small lunar core, and consistent with the idea that the early Moon melted substantially. The standard hypothesis requires that the Moon be made entirely from the impactor, strangely at odds with the nearly identical oxygen isotopic composition of the Earth and Moon, compositions that might be expected to be different if Moon came from a distinct impactor. Subsequent geochemical research has highlighted the similarity of both geochemical and isotopic composition of the Earth and Moon, and measured small but significant amounts of volatiles in lunar glassy materials, both of which are seemingly at odds with the standard giant impact model. Here we focus on key geochemical measurements and spacecraft observations that have prompted a healthy re-evaluation of the giant impact model, provide an overview of physical models that are either newly proposed or slightly revised from previous ideas, to explain the new datasets.

Righter, K.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Demonstrating Capabilities for Mars Exploration on the Moon

The U.S. Space Policy Directive of 2017 calls for the United States to lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars. To achieve these goals, NASA is working with commercial and international partners to develop systems and operational approaches that could be tested on the Moon to prepare for Mars missions. NASA’s human exploration strategy progresses in phases from the ISS in low-Earth orbit, to a sustained presence in cislunar space and on the Moon, to humans in Mars orbit, and finally humans on Mars. There is a huge jump in the capabilities required between the last two phases: humans in Mars orbit and humans on the surface. These include landing large payloads, surface habitation, extra-vehicular activity and crew mobility systems, in-situ resource utilization, and ascent from Mars to return the crew to Earth. Many of these needed capabilities can be tested first on the Moon to reduce the risk for Mars missions. There are a few challenges, however, in extrapolating from capability demonstrations on the Moon to enabling Mars missions such as greater remoteness, the Mars atmosphere, different gravity levels, and planetary protection. Key technologies, concepts for early demonstration of the required capabilities on the Moon, and potential areas for commercial and international partnerships will be discussed.

Moore, Christopher↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Preserving and Curating the Moon: Adventures in Lunar Core Processing

The lunar crust is the most easily accessible part of the Moon to both remote sensing and sample analyses and provides an archive of information about planetary formation, crustal evolution, and contains a wealth of information about the origin of the Earth-Moon system [e.g., 1-5]. The Apollo mission returned 382 kg of rocks, soil and core samples. Studies of these lunar samples are crucial for our understanding of the Moon’s formation and geological evolution, and for the past 50 years these returned samples have provided the foundation for lunar science [5]. The returned samples are stored and cared for in the lunar curation facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. This facility is comprised of a large suite of clean rooms, sample vaults for pristine and return samples, thin section labs, core and saw rooms, storage and working areas, and ancillary labs all designed to minimize contamination from the environment and other samples. Some of the returned samples were intentionally set aside and left unopened. Recently, the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative was designed to examine these pristine samples so the next generation of lunar scientists can further our insight into the Moon’s history. Here, we present the meticulous process that involves preparing for, and ultimately opening, one of the unopened core samples: Apollo 17 drive tube 73002,0,which was collected on the Moon from a landslide deposit near Lara Crater by astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt. In order to open, examine, and curate 73002,0withminimalpotential contamination, great care had to be taken prior to opening its container. Beginning18 months before extrusion of the sample, all core processing equipment was pulled out of storage, identified, sorted, cleaned, and purged with nitrogen gas. However, limited institutional memory has made this step challenging as most of the former core processors from the Apollo area have retired or passed away. Twelvemonths prior to extrusion, table-top rehearsals were initiated to identify equipment and learn how it fits together and operates. Five months before extruding the real core, preparations further evolved to include the extrusion and dissection of a lunar core simulant. In addition, a mock-up glovebox was designed and built to allow for a more realistic practice environment. One month prior to extrusion, the actual core cabinet was prepared for use, which included fitting it with lights, a webcam, and power. The tool and equipment cleaning procedure was also modified to include increased cleanliness and sterility requirements. While still sealed, the core was CT scanned at the University of Texas at Austin to maximize its scientific return. Days before the extrusion, witness plates and foil were deployed inside the core cabinet to monitor potential particle and organic contamination within the cabinet. On Nov. 5th, 2019, core sample 73002,0 was successfully opened and extruded(Fig.1). Dissection of 73002,0 began immediately afterwards and is still under way. Processing this sample will help us prepare for future sampling missions and core extrusions and will enable new scientific discoveries about the Moon.

C H Krysher↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar TLP's and the Tectonic Processes of the Earth and the Moon

We study the transient lunar phenomena (TLP) as an indicator of lunar tectonic. Seismic phenomena can be used as a direct indicator of some tectonic activities of the planets The Moon-Earth gravitational interaction has been studied extensively as a triggering mechanism to geodynamics. In this work, we study the reverse interaction Earth-Moon in relation to the TLP activities. The lunar outgassing potentially is the leading cause for TLP activities resulting from the lunar interior's dynamic mechanism. We have studied Earth venting and earthquakes processes and have found that radon was frequently activated before significant seismic events due to Moon-Sun interaction with Earth (Ouzounov et al., 2018). Earthquake lights, an associated phenomenon reported before some major earthquakes, are analog to TLP activities on the moon. In 1972, N. Kozyrev suggested a possible moon response to the significant seismic events on Earth. To understand whether TLP's activities have any possible connection with Earth geodynamics, we perform a statistical check between the significant seismic activities from the NEIC catalog and lunar TLPs for 1907-1977 for four lunar areas :Aristarchus, Plato, Gassendi, and Alphonsus. We use TLP compiled catalog based on Middlehurst et al. (1968), Cameron (2006a,b), and Crotts (2008) catalogs. Our results revealed a causal relationship between significant earthquakes and TLP events. However, this relation varies from the location and depth of the seismic events. Deformation triggers the degassing process, and TLPs are indicators for those underlying activities. Our work can provide new information about the origin of TLP and the existence of a possible relationship between the tectonic processes of Earth and the Moon.

D Ouzonov↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploring the Moon: Training Astronauts for Artemis Missions

For the first time in over 50 years, NASA scientists are training astronauts assigned to lunar missions. The successful Artemis 1 test flight in 2022 set the stage for future human missions to the Moon. The Artemis II mission will send astronauts to fly by the Moon, providing the first opportunity since Apollo for humans to directly observe and document the lunar surface from a few thousand kilometers, including the lunar far side. Artemis III will be the first human mission to land and explore the Moon’s surface near the lunar South Pole. To prepare for Artemis exploration, geology training for the Artemis II crew and detailed training plans for Artemis III and beyond are in full swing. NASA scientists have been working for several years with the Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) at the Johnson Space Center on a progressive geology training program that starts with incoming astronaut classes, offers opportunities to maintain the geology proficiency between flight assignments, and trains the broader engineering-operations-management community in geology and field operations. In the spring of 2023, our team developed an introductory week-long class called Lunar Fundamentals and delivered this content to the Artemis II crew, as well as key NASA Flight Control Team members. The Lunar Fundamentals curriculum combines basic geographic and geologic information about the Moon; includes detailed content on major geologic processes, the lunar environment, lunar volatiles, and sample science; provides historical context of our growing knowledge about the Moon; and introduces new lunar data sets and tools for exploring the lunar surface. With the Lunar Fundamentals foundation, we continue development of the advanced planetary science classroom content for the Artemis III crew, together with field training science objectives and plans. Partnering with our FOD colleagues, we are building an integrated training plan for lunar science, exploration field methods, and operational skills to ensure that the Artemis astronauts exploring the Moon will have the necessary foundation in geology and lunar science to achieve mission success.

Astronauts training↗
NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) Observation by Clementine of a Hugh Opposition Surge on the Moon at Very Small Solar Phase Angles

The Clementine mission enabled the first quantative observations of the Moon at very small solar phase angles. It is well established from Earth-based observations that the Moon exhibits a non-linear increase in brightness as its face becomes fully illuminated to a terrestrial observer. Because the models of the opposition effect are sensitive indicators of surfical compaction state and particle size, observations at small solar phase angles are important to obtain. A recent model for optical coherent backscatter seeks to explain a narrow opposition spike at very small phase angles (< 1 degree) seen on several icy satellites , including Europa, Icarus 90, and Oberon . Over 90 images of the Moon's surface at phase angles less than 0.5(deg) (the minimum phase angle observable from Earth due to the Moon's angular size) were obtained by the Clementine spacecraft. Our analysis of these images shows the moon exhibits a surge in brightness of approximately 20% below 0.25(deg), comparable to the values observed on icy satellites. No color dependence was detected in the lunar phase curve below 2 degrees.

partical size icy satellites Europa Icarus 90 Ober↗
NASA NTRS2007

Heliophysics Science and the Moon: Potential Solar and Space Physics Science for Lunar Exploration

This report addresses both these features new science enabled by NASAs exploration initiative and enabling science that is critical to ensuring a safe return to the Moon and onward to Mars. The areas of interest are structured into four main themes: Theme 1: Heliophysics Science of the Moon Studies of the Moons unique magnetodynamic plasma environment. Theme 2: Space Weather, Safeguarding the Journey Studies aimed at developing a predictive capability for space weather hazards. Theme 3: The Moon as a Historical Record Studies of the variation of the lunar regolith to uncover the history of the Sun, solar system, local interstellar medium, galaxy, and universe. Theme 4: The Moon as a Heliophysics Science Platform Using the unique environment of the lunar surface as a platform to provide observations beneficial to advancing heliophysics science.

Lunar exploration↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Moon Trek Portal: New Capabilities Supporting Mission Planning and Engagement

Introduction: NASA’s Moon Trek (https://trek.nasa.gov/moon/) is one of a growing number of interactive, browser-based, online portals for planetary data visualization and analysis produced by NASA’s Solar System Treks Project (SSTP). Moon Trek continues to be enhanced with new data and new capabilities enabling it to facilitate the planning and conducting of upcoming lunar missions by NASA, its commercial partners, and its international partners, as well as advancing its role as a valuable outreach tool. A Comprehensive Online Web Portal: Developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and managed as a project of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at NASA Ames Research Center, Moon Trek is a browser-based web portal. The portal provides easy-to-use tools for browsing, data layering, data product blending, and feature search among thousands of data products covering topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, geology, and much more. Visualizations are provided in var-ious map projections, interactive 3D viewing, and in virtual reality. Using an in-house stereo workflow, SSTP is able to produce new NAC-based high-resolution mosaics and DEMs. Diverse Applications for Lunar Exploration: Baseline analytic tools available to all users include dis-tance measurement, elevation profiling, sun angle calculation, and 3D print file generation. More advanced account-level tools allow users to perform more computationally intensive analyses. These include ray-traced lighting analysis for user-specified areas over user-specified time/date ranges and time intervals, electro-static surface potential analysis, subsetting of large data products, slope analysis, and Lunar Laser Ranging geometry calculation. Artificial intelligence (AI) and ma-chine learning (ML) based tools have been implemented for crater detection and hazard analysis, boulder detection and hazard analysis, and rockfall detection. New Tools Facilitating Exploration: Additional, new tools have recently been added and others are in development, offering even greater functionality in con-ducting analyses of potential landing sites and areas of surface operations. The new Line-of-Sight tool facilitates communications planning between locations on the lunar surface, between any given site on the lunar surface and a specified ground station on the Earth, and between a site on the lunar surface and a relay asset in lunar orbit, all taking into account local lunar topography. The new Data Plotter tool provides both tabular and graphical representations of pixel values along a user specified path for a growing number of data products. The new NAC Finder tool will identify and pro-vide access to NAC images that intersect a user-defined path or bounded area. The SSTP development team is looking to leverage the capabilities of its existing AI and ML crater, boulder, and rockfall detection and analysis tools, and extend that technology to a generalized feature detector that can be trained on instances of specific types of landforms and then search the lunar surface for more examples of such features. New traverse planning tools are being developed with use cases in generalized concept studies and specific mission planning in mind. These will facilitate finding optimal traverse paths based on constraints such as slope, lighting, hazard avoidance, and communications. These will be complemented by new traverse visualization capabilities. Users will be able to interactively ride along with a rover, examining 3D views of the terrain while adjusting camera height and viewing angle along with selecting different data layer overlays to drape across the terrain. Engaging the Public: The capabilities being developed for mission planning are being leveraged to further enhance Moon Trek’s proven utility as a valuable public outreach resource. This includes providing multiple lev-els of engagement with different points of entry. At its simplest level, promoting understanding through visualization, media and the public will be able to easily visualize and conduct their own exploration of lunar sites targeted by NASA and its partners. For a more in-depth experience, we are working with our stakeholders to promote understanding through interaction by extend-ing our current landing site and traverse analysis capabilities, making simplified access to these tools available to those who want to explore more deeply key factors in planning a mission through interactive and possibly even gamified experiences. The highest degree of public outreach, focusing on engagement through scientific participation, could be achieved through our work with missions and the NASA Office of the Chief Scientist on Moon Trek’s extension as a tool with specialized capabilities for facilitating citizen science. In such scenarios, participants become members of extended mis-sion science teams, using dedicated and integrated interfaces to analyze mission data to help answer questions key to lunar science and exploration. We are work-ing with NASA’s Office of Communications, museums, planetariums, and the media to help them easily integrate accurate, detailed visualizations of NASA’s lunar destinations and exploration into their content/productions and to engage diverse audiences in diverse venues.

Moon Trek↗
NASA NTRS2026

Moon Base Transportation - Deliveries to the Lunar Surface

Development of the Moon Base will enable a home away from home for astronauts who will live and work at humanity’s first lunar outpost. In this effort, NASA’s Moon Transportation Office is responsible for enabling the transformational missions required to deliver habitats, supplies, science payloads, and all other elements needed to cultivate a permanent presence on the Lunar Surface. The Mission Concept (MC) is characterized through evaluation of an end-to-end architecture that can successfully deliver a generalized heavy large-volume payload, in excess of 4000 kg, to a precision landing and touchdown on the lunar surface. The mission architecture utilizes a single launch configuration of a Lunar Lander (LL) with a unique propellant system. The LL has an integral orbital transfer capability and features jettisonable elements. The design circumvents the need for prop transfer on orbit and multiple launch configurations. The launch vehicle (LV) for this work will assume the capability to deliver a payload in excess of 40,000 kg to orbit, affording multiple LV solutions. Considerations for the LL and payload deployment from the fairing are assumed to be handled through compliance with a launch providers’ Interface Requirements Document (IRD). The MC will span from launch at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to terminal descent and touchdown on the lunar surface, requiring a total ΔV on the order of 6 km/s beyond what is required to get the vehicle stack to a 200 km circular Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Major mission phases include: launch and launch vehicle separation, transfer operations, pre-landing navigation, and lunar descent and touchdown. A Concept of Operations (ConOps) is used as the primary design driver for defining architecture of the vehicles necessary to achieve final payload delivery. Numerous ground rules and assumptions will be provided for each phase of the mission. Concept designs for the LL is presented. An emphasis of the design maximizes a feasible path for maturation, manufacturing, and operation. A self-imposed practical consideration for this effort is the incorporation of legacy designed hardware to minimize expensive, time-intensive, and high-risk hardware development cycles. The propulsion system of the LL adopts a conventional storable bipropellant configuration of monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON3). This effort will showcase a unique propellant delivery system to minimize the reliance on propellant management devices (PMDs) during descent. Numerous key constraints have been considered, across the multiple segments of the mission. These include the unique aspects of center of gravity (CG) management, thruster plume effects including self-impingement, propulsion system hardware limitations, navigation during multiple mission phases, and landing gear geometry for uneven terrain. These constraints shape the trades necessary for precision landing of heavy cargo and ensure compatibility with broader Moon Base Transportation concepts. The resulting insights inform future transportation strategies for the Moon and beyond; directly contributing to the development of cargo‑delivery standards that will support the long‑term buildup of a sustainable, continuously inhabited Moon Base.

Lunar Habitat↗
NASA NTRS1963

Lunar Flight Study Series: Volume 5. Trajectories in the Earth-Moon Space with Symmetrical Free Return Properties

An extensive investigation has been made of the characteristics of so-called "free return" trajectories. For the purposes of the study., these trajectories are defined as having certain symmetric properties which afford flight to the vicinity of the moon and return to earth without need for propulsion after the initial boost phase. The restricted three-body model for the earth-moon-probe system is used throughout. Two kinds of free return trajectories are shown to -exist and are studied. Of particular interest is the fact that for one kind of free return path, the largest inclination which can be achieved between the flight plane at periselenum and the plane of the moon's orbit about earth is about 10. 8 degrees while for the other kind of path the largest possible inclination is dependent on ·the radius at periselenum. In this case the inclination is limited to about 14 degrees or less for periselenum radius of 1938 km, but may be as great as 90 degrees with periselenum radius of 21150 km. Trajectories are also demonstrated which pass in front of the moon. These exhibit inclination behavior very much like that given by trajectories which go behind the moon. The injection velocity for these trajectories also changes only slightly from the circumlunar trajectories (less than 2 m/s for periselenum radius of 1938 km). However, the position of injection is changed considerably and the flight time may be increased by as much as five times that for circumlunar flight.

RETURN-TO-EARTH PHASE↗
NASA NTRS1972

Origin, evolution and present thermal state of the moon

The relative absence of lunar volcanism in the last 3 b.y. and the Apollo 15 heat flow measurement suggest that present-day temperatures in the moon are approximately steady state to depths of 100 km. An exponential distribution of heat sources with depth is scaled by equating the surface heat flow to the integrated heat production of this exterior shell. Presumed present-day interior temperatures and the present-day surface heat flow of 30 ergs/cm2-sec are obtained. The estimated homogeneous concentrations of U, the chemistry of the lunar surface material and inferences to modest depth, and the short accretion time of the moon necessary to provide large-scale differentiation at 4.6 AE suggest that the moon had its origin in the rapid accretion of compounds first condensing from the protoplanetary nebula. The present thermal state of the moon may involve at least some partial melting through all the lunar interior deeper than 200 km. Such a thermal configuration is inconsistent neither with temperatures inferred from electrical conductivity studies nor with the nonhydrostatic shape of the moon.

Hanks, T. C.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Recent results on the mass, gravitational field and moments of inertia of the moon.

Use of Doppler tracking data from the Lunar Orbiter series of spacecraft in an analysis of the spherical harmonic coefficients of the lunar gravitational field through thirteenth degree and order. The value obtained for the mass of the moon, GM = 4902.84 cu km/sec/sec, is in good agreement with previous results and with results obtained by alternate procedures. Acceleration contour plots, derived from the gravitational coefficients, show correlations with surface features on the near side of the moon, but are of questionable validity for the far side because of the lack of direct tracking data on the far side. Based on the most recent gravitational field data, the current estimate for the polar moment of inertia of the moon is C/Ma squared = 0.4019 super + 0.004 sub - 0.002. This value indicates that the interior of the moon can be homogeneous, but some results presented strongly suggest that the moon is differentiated, with an excess of mass in the direction toward the earth.

Michael, W. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1972

The origin of the moon.

Recent studies of the dynamics and thermodynamics of the early solar nebula have provided a basis for a theory of the origin of the moon which is consistent with presently developed views of the origin of the solar system. The hypothesis of inhomogeneous planetary accretion is extended. It is suggested that the anomalous properties of the moon, such as its enrichment in Ca, Al, Ti, and other refractories and its depletion in iron and volatiles can be explained if the bulk of the moon represents a high temperature condensate. It is proposed that the moon is composed chiefly of compounds that condense before iron and that the volatile content of the moon was brought in as a thin veneer after the solar nebula dissipated.

Anderson, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

System description and operating guide for DSAS illumination and moon conflict programs

The DSAS Illumination and Moon Conflict programs are described which during an orbit when the DSAS (Digital Solar Aspect Sensor) will record the direct rays of the sun, and the periods of time when the horizon scanners will come in conflict with the moon. The DSAS Illumination Program makes use of an orbit tape (or epoch time and orbital elements) in addition to an ephemeris tape containing positions of the sun and moon. The Moon Conflict Program makes use of the same ephemeris tape with sun and moon positions, but uses only epoch time and orbital elements for the satellite positions. These programs were designed for the TIROS or ITOS series spacecraft but may be utilized by any spacecraft with similar sensors.

Dunker, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Iron abundance in the moon from magnetometer measurements

Apollo 12 and 15 lunar surface magnetometer data with simultaneous lunar orbiting Explorer 35 data are used to plot hysteresis curves for the whole moon. From these curves a whole-moon permeability mu = 1.029 + 0.024 or - 0.019 is calculated. This result implies that the moon is not composed entirely of paramagnetic material, but that ferromagnetic material such as free iron exists in sufficient amounts to dominate the bulk lunar susceptibility. From the magnetic data the ferromagnetic free iron abundance is calculated. Then for assumed compositional models of the moon the additional paramagnetic iron is determined, yielding total lunar iron content. The calculated abundances are as follows: ferromagnetic free iron = 5 + or - 4 wt. percent, and total iron in the moon = 9 + or - 4 wt. percent.

Parkin, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Iron abundance in the moon from magnetometer measurements

Apollo 12 and 15 lunar surface magnetometer data with simultaneous lunar orbiting Explorer 35 data are used to plot hysteresis curves for the whole moon. From these curves a whole-moon permeability of 1.029 (+0.024 or -0.019) is calculated. This result implies that the moon is not composed entirely of paramagnetic material, but that ferromagnetic material such as free iron exists in sufficient amounts to dominate the bulk lunar susceptibility. From the magnetic data the ferromagnetic free iron abundance is calculated. Then for assumed compositional models of the moon the additional paramagnetic iron is determined, yielding total lunar iron content. The calculated abundances are as follows: ferromagnetic free iron, 5 plus or minus 4 wt %; total iron in the moon, 9 plus or minus 4 wt %.

Parkin, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

The interior of the Moon

Questions of lunar bulk chemistry are being considered, giving attention to the depletion of the moon in iron and compounds more volatile than iron. Currently four seismic stations are operating on the moon to provide data for the study of the lunar interior. The travel times of seismic waves generated by artificial impacts have been used to determine the structure of the outer 150 km of the moon. New evidence fails to resolve the controversy whether the lunar interior is hot or cold. A schematic cross section of the moon is presented and problems concerning the origin of the moon are considered.

Anderson, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

After Apollo - Fission origin of the moon

The present work maintains that the Apollo moon data substantiate the fission theory of the origin of the moon. It has been objected to this theory that prior to fission, the total mass and angular momentum of the earth-moon system would have to be greater than the present total of the earth and the moon, which would imply that angular momentum must have been lost since the fission. The present work states that this loss of momentum can be accounted for by the subsequent boiling off of a large amount of the original lunar mass. This would also mean that the moon ought to be greatly impoverished in volatiles, which it, indeed, is according to Apollo data. It is suggested that at one time the solar system was a binary star, namely, the sun and Jupiter. Successive fissions of Jupiter would have created other planets, which themselves could undergo fission, producing satellites.

Okeefe, J. A.↗