The two moon-exploring crewmen of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission show off some of the largest of the lunar rocks they collected on their mission, during a through-the-glass meeting with newsmen in the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell (left), lunar module pilot, holds up a tote bag in which some of the lunar samples were stowed, while astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, looks on. The largest sample brought back on the mission, a basketball-size rock (nicknamed "Big Bertha"), is said to be the largest lunar rock collected in three lunar landing missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

S71-20375 (19 Feb. 1971) --- The two moon-exploring crewmen of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission show off some of the largest of the lunar rocks they collected on their mission, during a through-the-glass meeting with newsmen in the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell (left), lunar module pilot, holds up a tote bag in which some of the lunar samples were stowed, while astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., commander, looks on. The largest sample brought back on the mission, a basketball-size rock (nicknamed "Big Bertha"), is said to be the largest lunar rock collected in three lunar landing missions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

S71-20373 (19 Feb. 1971) --- The Apollo 14 crew men show off some of the largest of the lunar rocks which they brought back from the moon during a through-the-glass meeting with news men in the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. (right), mission commander, leans over to view a large basketball-size rock which astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, points out. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, command module pilot, who circled the moon in the Command and Service Modules (CSM) while his two fellow crewmembers explored the moon, looks on (near the center of the photograph). Four of the 14 men quarantined with the Apollo 14 crew look on in the background.

S71-21244 (24 Feb. 1971) --- Three Brown and Root/Northrop technicians in the Nonsterile Nitrogen Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) peer through glass at the much-discussed basketball size rock which Apollo 14 crewmen brought back from the Fra Mauro area of the moon. They are, left to right, Linda Tyler, Nancy L. Trent and Sandra Richards.

S69-60487 (1 Dec. 1969) --- A close-up view of one of the rocks brought back to Earth from the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission. The rock is under examination in the Physical-Chemical Test Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL), Building 37, MSC. This rock is one of two breccia found in the contingency collection gathered by astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean during their stay on the lunar surface. The breccia rocks, common in the collection of Apollo 11 lunar samples, have been rare in examinations of the Apollo 12 samples thus far.

S69-60354 (29 Nov. 1969) --- A scientist's gloved hand holds one of the numerous rock samples brought back to Earth from the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission. The rocks are under thorough examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). This sample is a highly shattered basaltic rock with a thin black-glass coating on five of its six sides. Glass fills fractures and cements the rock together. The rock appears to have been shattered and thrown out by a meteorite impact explosion and coated with molten rock material before the rock fell to the surface.

S69-45025 (27 July 1969) --- This is the first lunar sample that was photographed in detail in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The photograph shows a granular, fine-grained, mafic (iron magnesium rich) rock. At this early stage of the examination, this rock appears similar to several igneous rock types found on Earth. The scale is printed backwards due to the photographic configuration in the Vacuum Chamber. The sample number is 10003. This rock was among the samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

S69-45009 (27 July 1969) --- This is the first lunar sample that was photographed in detail in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The photograph shows a granular, fine-grained, mafic (iron magnesium rich) rock. At this early stage of the examination, this rock appears similar to several igneous rock types found on Earth. The scale is printed backwards due to the photographic configuration in the Vacuum Chamber. The sample number is 10003. This rock was among the samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969.

S69-45002 (26 July 1969) --- A close-up view of the lunar rocks contained in the first Apollo 11 sample return container. The rock box was opened for the first time in the Vacuum Laboratory of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37, at 3:55 p.m. (CDT), Saturday, July 26, 1969. The gloved hand gives an indication of size. This box also contained the Solar Wind Composition experiment (not shown) and two core tubes for subsurface samples (not shown). These lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

S73-15713 (January 1973) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar rock sample No. 76055 being studied and analyzed in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. This tan-gray irregular, rounded breccia was among many lunar samples brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crew. The rock measures 18 x 20 x 25 centimeters (7.09 x 7.87 x 9.84 inches) and weighs 6,389 grams (14.2554 pounds). The rock was collected from the south side of the lunar roving vehicle while the Apollo 17 astronauts were at Station 7 (base of North Massif).

S71-19269 (12 Feb. 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 14 sample number 14414 & 14412, a fine lunar powder-like material under examination in the Sterile Nitrogen Atmospheric Processing (SNAP) line in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Scientists are currently making preliminary analyses of material brought back from the moon by the crew of Apollo 14 lunar landing mission.

S69-60424 (29 Nov. 1969) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, holds two lunar rocks which were among the samples brought back from the moon by the Apollo 12 astronauts. The samples are under scientific examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory.

S69-60909 (November 1969) --- A close-up view of lunar sample 12,052 under observation in the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., and Alan L. Bean collected several rocks and samples of finer lunar matter during their Apollo 12 lunar landing mission extravehicular activity (EVA). This particular sample was picked up during the second space walk (EVA) on Nov. 20, 1969. It is a typically fine-grained crystalline rock with a concentration of holes on the left part of the exposed side. These holes are called vesicles and have been identified as gas bubbles formed during the crystallization of the rock. Several glass-lined pits can be seen on the surface of the rock.

S71-21245 (24 Feb. 1971) --- Dr. Daniel H. Anderson, an aerospace technologist and test director in the Nonsterile Nitrogen Processing Laboratory in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) looks at much-discussed Apollo 14 basketball-size rock through a microscope. The two moon-exploring crew men of Apollo 14 brought back 90-odd pounds of lunar sample material from their two periods of extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro area.

S71-42955 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 15 lunar sample no. 15415 in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample is the white anorthositic rock (Genesis Rock) collected by astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin in container no. 196 at Site no. 7 at a Ground Elapsed Time of 145 hours and 42 minutes, on the mission's second extravehicular activity (EVA).

S72-38465 (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, engineer David White (left) and University of Texas geologist/professor William Muehlberger look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA

S71-43050 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of Apollo 15 lunar sample No. 15305 in the Non-sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample, pictured on a small spatula in a lab technician's glove, is green and is one of six recently taken from container No. 173, made up of comprehensive fines from the Apennine Front, Site No. 7. Astronauts David R. Scott, commander; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, took the sample during their second extravehicular activity (EVA), at a ground elapsed time (GET) of 146:05 to 146:06.

A closeup view or "mug shot" of Apollo 16 lunar sample no. 68815, a dislodged fragment from a parent boulder roughly four feet high and five feet long encountered at Station 8. The crew tried in vain to overturn the parent boulder. A fillet-soil sample was taken close to the boulder, allowing for study of the type and rate of erosion acting on lunar rocks. The fragment itself is very hard, has many veticles and a variety of inclusions. In addition, numerous metallic particles were observed in the black matrix.

S71-19489 (18 Feb. 1971) --- Glove handlers work with freshly opened Apollo 14 lunar sample material in modularized cabinets in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The glove operator on the right starts to pour fine lunar material which he has just taken from a tote bag. The powdery sample was among the last to be revealed of the 90-odd pounds of material brought back to Earth by the Apollo 14 crew members.

S71-43052 (August 1971) --- A close-up view of a container full of green-colored lunar soil in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). This sample, broken down into six separate samples after this photo was made, was made up of comprehensive fines from near Spur Crater on the Apennine Front. The numbers assigned to the sample include numbers 15300 through 15305. Astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin took the sample during their second extravehicular activity (EVA) at a ground elapsed time (GET) of 146:05 to 146:06.

S71-43203 (9 Aug. 1971) --- Astronauts David R. Scott, left foreground, and James B. Irwin, right foreground, join the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) geologists in getting first looks at some of the first Apollo 15 samples to be opened in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the MSC Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). Holding the microphone and making recorded tapes of the two Apollo 15 crew men's comments is Dr. Gary Lofgren. Partially obscured, near center of photo is Dr. William Phinney, and to his left is Dr. James W. Head.

S69-39996 (25 July 1969) --- The first Apollo 11 sample return container, with lunar surface material inside, is unloaded at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37, Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The rock box had arrived only minutes earlier at Ellington Air Force Base by air from the Pacific recovery area. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity.

S69-45507 (4 Aug. 1969) --- A close-up of the second Apollo 11 sample return container in the Vacuum Laboratory of the Manned Spacecraft Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Building 37. This rock box was opened for the first time at 1 p.m. (CDT), Aug. 4, 1969. Some of the material has already been removed from the ALSRC in this view. The stainless steel can contains some course lunar surface material. The lunar samples were collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their lunar surface extravehicular activity on July 20, 1969.

The 3D-printed titanium scoop of the Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm (COLDArm) robotic arm system is poised above a test bed filled with material to simulate lunar regolith (broken rocks and dust) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. COLDArm can function in temperatures as cold as minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 173 degrees Celsius). COLDArm is designed to go on a Moon lander and operate during lunar night, a period that lasts about 14 Earth days. Frigid temperatures during lunar night would stymie current spacecraft, which must rely on energy-consuming heaters to stay warm. To operate in the cold, the 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) arm combines several key new technologies: gears made of bulk metallic glass that require no lubrication or heating, cold motor controllers that don't need to be kept warm in an electronics box near the core of the spacecraft, and a cryogenic six-axis force torque sensor that lets the arm "feel" what it's doing and make adjustments. A variety of attachments and small instruments could go on the end of the arm, including the scoop, which could be used for collecting samples from a planet's surface. Like the arm on NASA's InSight Mars lander, COLDArm could deploy science instruments to the surface. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25318

S73-16007 (December 1972) --- A "mug shot" of Apollo 17 lunar sample no. 72255 which was brought back from the lunar surface by the final team of Apollo astronauts. The rock weighs 461.2 grams and measures 2.5 x 9 x 10.5 centimeters. The light grey breccia is sub-rounded on all faces except the top and north sides.

S73-16199 (December 1972) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar sample number 72415,0 which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. This sample is a brecciated dunite clast weighing a little over 32 grams (about 1.14 ounces). This sample was collected at station 2 (South Massif) during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CREDIT: The view was photographed by Karl Mills, Scientific Photo Arts, Berkeley, California.

S73-16198 (December 1972) --- A close-up view of Apollo 17 lunar sample number 72415,0 which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. This sample is a brecciated dunite clast weighing a little over 32 grams (about 1.14 ounces). This sample was collected at station 2 (South Massif) during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA).

S72-38463 (19 May 1972) --- In an isolated area of the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory, geologists Don Morrison (left) and Fred Horz flank University of Texas geologist/professor William (Bill) Muehlberger as the three look at a "special" rock brought back from the moon recently by the Apollo 16 astronauts. Lunar sample 61016, better known as "Big Muley," is a large breccia sample, the largest moon rock returned by any Apollo crew, which is named after Muehlberger, the Apollo 16 field geology team leader. Photo credit: NASA

S69-40945 (August 1969) --- This is a core tube sample under study and examination in the Manned Spacecraft Center?s (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). The sample was among lunar soil and rock samples collected by astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. during their extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969. While astronauts Armstrong, commander; and Aldrin, lunar module pilot; descended in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility landing site on the moon. Astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit.

S71-43477 (12 Aug. 1971) --- Astronaut David R. Scott, right, commander of the Apollo 15 mission, gets a close look at the sample referred to as "Genesis rock" in the Non-Sterile Nitrogen Processing Line (NNPL) in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). Scientist-astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV, left, an Apollo 15 spacecraft communicator, looks on with interest. The white-colored rock has been given the permanent identification of 15415.

S69-60580 (November 1969) --- Close-up view of Apollo 12 sample 12,065 under observation in the Manned Spacecraft Center's (MSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). This sample, collected during the second Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean, is a fine-grained rock. Note the glass-lined pits. Viewer can gain an idea of the size of the rock by reference to the gauge on the bottom portion of the number meter.

jsc2018e076655 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions. Apollo Lunar Sample Principle Scientist Andrea Mosie held a lunar sample up for inspection by the Vice President, who was joined in the viewing room behind protective glass by Apollo Lunar Sample Curator Ryan Ziegler.

jsc2018e076652 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions. Apollo Lunar Sample Principle Scientist Andrea Mosie held a lunar sample up for inspection by the Vice President, who was joined in the viewing room behind protective glass by Apollo Lunar Sample Curator Ryan Ziegler.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara kneels to pick up a rock while testing the mobility of Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit. NASA and Axiom Space teams held the first dual spacesuit run at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston on September 24, 2025 with NASA Astronauts Stan Love and Loral O’Hara wearing Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit, called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU). This was the final integration test in the pool, proving both the spacesuit and facility are prepped and ready for Artemis training.

S69-53126 (30 Sept. 1969) --- A progress photograph of sample experiments being conducted in the Manned Spacecraft Center?s Lunar Receiving Laboratory with lunar material brought back to Earth by the crew of the Apollo 11 mission. Aseptic cultures of liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) - a species of plant commonly found growing on rocks or in wooded areas - are shown in two rows of sample containers. Seven weeks or some 50 days prior to this photograph 0.22 grams of finely ground lunar material was added to each of the upper samples of cultures. The lower cultures were untreated, and a noted difference can be seen in the upper row and the lower one, both in color and size of the cultures.

This is the Apollo 14 mission insignia or logo. The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module pilot; Alan B. Shepard, Jr., mission commander; and Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module pilot, lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

The moon bound Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission commander Alan B. Shepard Jr., Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. The mission safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

Stuart A. Roosa, Apollo 14 Command Module pilot, undergoes a final space suit check prior to liftoff. The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Roosa; Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Mission Commander; and Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module pilot, lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

A team investigating molten regolith electrolysis prepares to test a reactor inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 29, 2020. The Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project seeks to develop technology to extract oxygen and metals from the crushed rock, or regolith, that covers the Moon’s surface. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate.

Jaime Toro, a mechanical engineer supporting the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, checks the hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Jaime Toro, a mechanical engineer supporting the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, checks the hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Evan Bell, a mechanical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, checks the hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Elspeth Petersen, a chemical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects some of the GaLORE hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

The moon bound Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission commander Alan B. Shepard Jr., Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on January 31, 1971, and safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), shown here fully deployed. In addition, they collected a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth.

Members of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team inspect hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Elspeth Petersen, left, a chemical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and Evan Bell, GaLORE mechanical engineer, inspect hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – stimulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Jaime Toro, a mechanical engineer supporting the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, checks the hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Elspeth Petersen, a chemical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects the GaLORE hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Elspeth Petersen, a chemical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects hardware before a test to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Kevin Grossman, left, principal investigator of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project, and Elspeth Petersen, a chemical engineer and member of the GaLORE team, check some of the project’s hardware that will be used to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants during a test inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

Elspeth Petersen, left, a chemical engineer and member of the Gaseous Lunar Oxygen from Regolith Electrolysis (GaLORE) project team, and Kevin Grossman, GaLORE principal investigator, inspect a reactor before a test to melt lunar regolith – dirt and dust on the Moon made from crushed rock – simulants inside a laboratory at Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on Oct. 29, 2020. GaLORE was selected as an Early Career Initiative project by the agency’s Space Technology Mission directorate, and the team was tasked with developing a device that could melt lunar regolith and turn it into oxygen. As NASA prepares to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis program, technology such as this can assist with sustainable human lunar exploration and long-duration missions to Mars.

S72-49482 (November 1972) --- The Optical Recorder of the Lunar Sounder Experiment (S-209) which will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. The three functional parts of the Lunar Sounder are the optical recorder, the coherent synthetic aperture radar, and the antennas, a retractable dipole for HF and a yagi for VHF. The Lunar Sounder will probe three-quarters of a mile below the moon's surface from the orbiting Apollo 17 spacecraft. Electronic data recorded on film will be retrieved by the crew during trans-Earth EVA. Geologic information on the lunar interior obtained by the sounder will permit scientific investigation of underground rock layers, lava flow patterns, rille (canyon) structures, mascon properties, and any areas containing water. A prototype lunar sounder has been flight tested in aircraft over selected Earth sites to confirm the equipment design and develop scientific analysis techniques. The Lunar Sounder Experiment was developed by North American Rockwell's (NR) Space Division for NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center to provide data for a scientific investigation team with representatives from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Utah, University of Michigan, U.S. Geological Survey, and NASA Ames Research Center.

This is a view from sequential photographs of the Apollo 14 liftoff taken by a remote camera atop the 360-foot gantry level of Launch Complex 39A. The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission commander Alan B. Shepard Jr., Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. Activities of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell, during extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface, included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth.

Apollo 14 Mission Commander, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., waves to well-wishers as he and astronauts Stuart A. Roosa, Command Module pilot; and Edgar D. Mitchell, Lunar Module pilot, walk to the transfer van during the countdown demonstration test. The Apollo 14, carrying the crew of three lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

S72-53472 (November 1972) --- An artist's concept illustrating how radar beams of the Apollo 17 lunar sounder experiment will probe three-quarters of a mile below the moon's surface from the orbiting spacecraft. The Lunar Sounder will be mounted in the SIM bay of the Apollo 17 Service Module. Electronic data recorded on film will be retrieved by the crew during trans-Earth EVA. Geologic information on the lunar interior obtained by the sounder will permit scientific investigation of underground rock layers, lava flow patterns, rille (canyon) structures, mascon properties, and any areas containing water. A prototype lunar sounder has been flight tested in aircraft over selected Earth sites to confirm the equipment design and develop scientific analysis techniques. The Lunar Sounder Experiment (S-209) was developed by North American Rockwell's (NR) Space Division for NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center to provide data for a scientific investigation team with representatives from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Utah, University of Michigan, U.S. Geological Survey, and NASA Ames Research Center.

S73-36162 (November 1973) --- Dr. Robert S. Clark changes magnetic tape on the Radiation Counting Laboratory's mini-computer. The computer calculates the total content of radioactive isotopes in the lunar materials. Some 120 different samples from the six landings on the moon have been studied by the lab's gamma spectrometer, which generates 65,000 individual data points of each sample. Measurements of radioactive isotopes reveal how long they have been near the surface, and also reflect how much the rocks have been eroded by micrometeorites. Photo credit: NASA

jsc2018e076186 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence (right) visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (left) on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions, as well as the Sonny Carter Training Facility (Neutral Buoyancy Lab) where astronauts practice spacewalking techniques they will employ when they fly in space.

jsc2018e076189 (Aug. 23, 2018) --- Vice President Mike Pence visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo program’s lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions, as well as the Sonny Carter Training Facility (Neutral Buoyancy Lab) where astronauts practice spacewalking techniques they will employ when they fly in space.

The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, piloted by Michael Collins remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, named “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, landed on the Moon. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. This photograph was taken as the mission’s first loaded sample return container arrived at Ellington Air Force Base by air from the Pacific recovery area. The rock box was immediately taken to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, Texas. Happily posing for the photograph with the rock container are (L-R) Richard S. Johnston (back), special assistant to the MSC Director; George M. Low, MSC Apollo Spacecraft Program manager; George S. Trimble (back), MSC Deputy Director; Lt. General Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director, Office of Manned Spaceflight at NASA headquarters; Eugene G. Edmonds, MSC Photographic Technology Laboratory; Dr. Thomas O. Paine, NASA Administrator; and Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director.

In the launch control center at Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC), Walter J. Kapryan, Director of Launch Operations (center), discusses an aspect of the Apollo 14 flight with Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Dr. Rocco A. Petrone, Apollo Program Director (right). The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Mission commander Alan B. Shepard Jr., Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The extravehicular activity (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Apollo 14 mission commander, watches a technician conduct space suit checks during a demonstration test prior to countdown. The Apollo 14, carrying a crew of three astronauts: Shepard; Command Module pilot Stuart A. Roosa, and Lunar Module pilot Edgar D. Mitchell, lifted off from launch complex 39A at KSC on January 31, 1971. It was the third manned lunar landing, the first manned landing in exploration of the lunar highlands, and it demonstrated pinpoint landing capability. The major goal of Apollo 14 was the scientific exploration of the Moon in the foothills of the rugged Fra Mauro region. The extravehicular activities (EVA) of astronauts Shepard and Mitchell included setting up an automated scientific laboratory called Apollo Lunar Scientific Experiments Package (ALSEP), and collecting a total of about 95 pounds (43 kilograms) of Moon rock and soil for a geological investigation back on the Earth. Apollo 14 safely returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.

The 3D-printed titanium scoop of the Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm (COLDArm) robotic arm system is poised above a test bed filled with material to simulate lunar regolith (broken rocks and dust) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. COLDArm can function in temperatures as cold as minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 173 degrees Celsius). COLDArm is designed to go on a Moon lander and operate during lunar night, a period that lasts about 14 Earth days. Frigid temperatures during lunar night would stymie current spacecraft, which must rely on energy-consuming heaters to stay warm. To operate in the cold, the 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) arm combines several key new technologies: gears made of bulk metallic glass that require no lubrication or heating, cold motor controllers that don't need to be kept warm in an electronics box near the core of the spacecraft, and a cryogenic six-axis force torque sensor that lets the arm "feel" what it's doing and make adjustments. A variety of attachments and small instruments could go on the end of the arm, including the scoop, which could be used for collecting samples from a planet's surface. Like the arm on NASA's InSight Mars lander, COLDArm could deploy science instruments to the surface. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25317

The full-scale engineering model of NASA's Perseverance rover has put some dirt on its wheels. This vehicle system test bed (VSTB) rover moved into its home — a garage facing the Mars Yard at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California — on Sept. 4, 2020. It drove onto simulated Martian surface of the Mars Yard — a dirt field at JPL studded with rocks and other obstacles — for the first time on Sept. 8. The VSTB rover is also known as OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars). A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary spacecraft to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23966

S72-56362 (27 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt (facing camera), Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, was one of the first to look at the sample of "orange" soil which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. Schmitt discovered the material at Shorty Crater during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). The "orange" sample, which was opened Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1972, is in the bag on a weighing platform in the sealed nitrogen cabinet in the upstairs processing line in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Just before, the sample was removed from one of the bolt-top cans visible to the left in the cabinet. The first reaction of Schmitt was "It doesn't look the same." Most of the geologists and staff viewing the sample agreed that it was more tan and brown than orange. Closer comparison with color charts showed that the sample had a definite orange cast, according the MSC geology branch Chief William Phinney. After closer investigation and sieving, it was discovered that the orange color was caused by very fine spheres and fragments of orange glass in the midst of darker colored, larger grain material. Earlier in the day the "orange" soil was taken from the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container No. 2 and placed in the bolt-top can (as was all the material in the ALSRC "rock box").

A development rover that is part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration drives over a rock during its first autonomous drive around the Mars Yard at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in June 2023. Under a canopy behind the rover are, from left, graduate student intern Natalie Deo and CADRE verification and validation lead Sawyer Brooks of JPL. The CADRE team successfully tested a new wheel design, surface navigation software, and mobility capabilities, among other aspects of the project. The rover being tested is similar in size and appearance to the flight models of the CADRE rovers, which are still being built. Slated to arrive at the Moon in spring 2024 as part of NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, CADRE is designed to demonstrate that multiple robots can cooperate and explore together autonomously – without direct input from human mission controllers. A trio of the miniature solar-powered rovers, each about the size of a carry-on suitcase, will explore the Moon as a team, communicating via radio with each other and a base station aboard a lunar lander. By taking simultaneous measurements from multiple locations, CADRE will also demonstrate how multirobot missions can record data impossible for a single robot to achieve – a tantalizing prospect for future missions. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25667

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dr. Carlos Calle, senior research scientist on the Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Dust Mitigation project, works with dust fabricated for use in his experiments in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory in the SwampWorks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The fabricated material is designed to mimic the dust on the lunar surface. The technology works by creating an electric field that propagates out like the ripples on a pond. This could prevent dust accumulation on spacesuits, thermal radiators, solar panels, optical instruments and view ports for future lunar and Mars exploration activities. Electrodynamic dust shield, or EDS, technology is based on concepts originally developed by NASA as early as 1967 and later by the University of Tokyo. In 2003, NASA, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, started development of the EDS for dust particle removal from solar panels to be used on future missions to the moon, an asteroid or Mars. A flight experiment to expose the dust shields to the space environment currently is under development. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/content/scientists-developing-ways-to-mitigate-dust-problem-for-explorers/ Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

NASA's Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm (COLDArm) robotic arm system reaches out from a lander on the Moon and scoops up regolith (broken rock and dust). Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, COLDArm is designed to operate during lunar night, a period that lasts about 14 Earth days. It can function in temperatures as cold as minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 173 degrees Celsius). Frigid temperatures during lunar night would stymie the arms on current spacecraft, which must rely on energy-consuming heaters to stay warm. To operate in the cold, the 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) arm combines several key new technologies: gears made of bulk metallic glass that require no wet lubrication or heating, cold motor controllers that don't need to be kept warm in an electronics box near the core of the spacecraft, and a cryogenic six-axis force torque sensor that lets the arm "feel" what it's doing and make adjustments. A variety of attachments and small instruments could go on the end of the arm, such as a 3D-printed titanium scoop that could collect samples from a planet's surface, similar to what's depicted here. Like the arm on NASA's now-retired InSight Mars lander, COLDArm is also capable of deploying science instruments to the surface. The arm system could be attached to a stationary lander or to a rover. Motiv Space Systems, a partner on COLDArm, developed the cold motor controllers, and also built sections of the arm and assembled it from JPL-supplied parts at the company's Pasadena, California, facility. The COLDArm project is funded through the Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative and managed by the Game Changing Development program in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26347

The 3D-printed titanium scoop of the Cold Operable Lunar Deployable Arm (COLDArm) robotic arm system is poised above a test bed filled with material to simulate lunar regolith (broken rocks and dust) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. COLDArm can function in temperatures as cold as minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 173 degrees Celsius). Robotics engineer David E. Newill-Smith looks on during testing in September 2022. COLDArm is designed to go on a Moon lander and operate during lunar night, a period that lasts about 14 Earth days. Frigid temperatures during lunar night would stymie current spacecraft, which must rely on energy-consuming heaters to stay warm. To operate in the cold, the 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) arm combines several key new technologies: gears made of bulk metallic glass that require no lubrication or heating, cold motor controllers that don't need to be kept warm in an electronics box near the core of the spacecraft, and a cryogenic six-axis force torque sensor that lets the arm "feel" what it's doing and make adjustments. A variety of attachments and small instruments could go on the end of the arm, including the scoop, which could be used for collecting samples from a planet's surface. Like the arm on NASA's InSight Mars lander, COLDArm could deploy science instruments to the surface. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25316

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dr. Carlos Calle, senior research scientist on the Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Dust Mitigation project, demonstrates a dust particle experiment in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory in the SwampWorks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The technology works by creating an electric field that propagates out like the ripples on a pond. This could prevent dust accumulation on spacesuits, thermal radiators, solar panels, optical instruments and view ports for future lunar and Mars exploration activities. Electrodynamic dust shield, or EDS, technology is based on concepts originally developed by NASA as early as 1967 and later by the University of Tokyo. In 2003, NASA, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, started development of the EDS for dust particle removal from solar panels to be used on future missions to the moon, an asteroid or Mars. A flight experiment to expose the dust shields to the space environment currently is under development. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/content/scientists-developing-ways-to-mitigate-dust-problem-for-explorers/ Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dust particle experiments are conducted for Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Dust Mitigation project in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory in the SwampWorks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The technology works by creating an electric field that propagates out like the ripples on a pond. This could prevent dust accumulation on spacesuits, thermal radiators, solar panels, optical instruments and view ports for future lunar and Mars exploration activities. Electrodynamic dust shield, or EDS, technology is based on concepts originally developed by NASA as early as 1967 and later by the University of Tokyo. In 2003, NASA, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, started development of the EDS for dust particle removal from solar panels to be used on future missions to the moon, an asteroid or Mars. A flight experiment to expose the dust shields to the space environment currently is under development. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/content/scientists-developing-ways-to-mitigate-dust-problem-for-explorers/ Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Dr. Carlos Calle, senior research scientist on the Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Dust Mitigation project, demonstrates a dust particle experiment in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory in the SwampWorks at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The technology works by creating an electric field that propagates out like the ripples on a pond. This could prevent dust accumulation on spacesuits, thermal radiators, solar panels, optical instruments and view ports for future lunar and Mars exploration activities. Electrodynamic dust shield, or EDS, technology is based on concepts originally developed by NASA as early as 1967 and later by the University of Tokyo. In 2003, NASA, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, started development of the EDS for dust particle removal from solar panels to be used on future missions to the moon, an asteroid or Mars. A flight experiment to expose the dust shields to the space environment currently is under development. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/content/scientists-developing-ways-to-mitigate-dust-problem-for-explorers/ Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

Technicians move a full-scale engineering version of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover into to its new home — a garage facing the Mars Yard at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California — on Sept. 4, 2020. This vehicle system test bed (VSTB) rover was built in a warehouselike assembly room not far from the Mars Yard — an area that simulates the Red Planet's surface — and enables the mission team to test how hardware and software will perform before they transmit commands to the real rover on Mars. It also goes by the name OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars). The Perseverance rover's astrobiology mission will search for signs of ancient microbial life. It will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23965

The full-scale engineering model of NASA's Perseverance rover raises its "head," or remote sensing mast, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. This model is known as the vehicle system test bed (VSTB) rover, or OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars). OPTIMISM raised its mast shortly after moving into its new home at JPL's Mars Yard on Sept. 4, 2020. The mast hosts many of the rover's cameras and scientific instruments. At the top of the mast, the large circular opening is where the SuperCam instrument will be installed on this test rover. Also visible in these images below the SuperCam "eye" are the navigation cameras (two cameras closest to the outside of the head) and the Mastcam-Z cameras inside of the navigation cameras. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary spacecraft to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23967

S73-15171 (4 Jan. 1973) --- These orange glass spheres and fragments are the finest particles ever brought back from the moon. Ranging in size from 20 to 45 microns (about 1/1000 of an inch) the particles are magnified 160 times in this photomicrograph made in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The orange soil was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt discovered the orange soil at Shorty Crater during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). This lunar material is being studied and analyzed by scientists in the LRL. The orange particles in this photomicrograph, which are intermixed with black and black-speckled grains, are about the same size as the particles that compose silt on Earth. Chemical analysis of the orange soil material has shown the sample to be similar to some of the samples brought back from the Apollo 11 (Sea of Tranquility) site several hundred miles to the southwest. Like those samples, it is rich in titanium (8%) and iron oxide (22%). But unlike the Apollo 11 samples, the orange soil is unexplainably rich in zinc ? an anomaly that has scientists in a quandary. This Apollo 17 sample is not high in volatile elements, nor do the minerals contain substantial amounts of water. These would have provided strong evidence of volcanic activity. On the other hand, the lack of agglutinates (rocks made up of a variety of minerals cemented together) indicates that the orange glass is probably not the product of meteorite impact -- strengthening the argument that the glass was produced by volcanic activity.