Moon – University of New Mexico And Other Institutions Are Studying Volatile Materials From The South Pole Of The Moon – Part 3 of 3 Parts

Part 3 of 3 Parts
     Charles Shearer explained that “Returning these materials that are derived from that impact event and dating them will tell us about the impact history of the inner solar system, including the Earth. It can also tell us a little bit about the migration and the movement of some of the larger planets in the solar system, like Jupiter and Saturn.”
     Sharp was the first person to analyze gases taken by from the Apollo 17 mission but never opened. This made The UNM the first university to analyze those gases in 2022.
     The UNM has created a smoothly functioning enterprise when it comes to this research by working through different departments The UNM is equipped with sophisticated technology for analyzing these kinds of materials. Sharp explained that the university has purchased an advanced transmission electron microscope, a stable isotope lab, radiogenic isotope labs, X-ray diffraction, X-ray Computed Tomography and more sophisticated equipment.
     Shearer said, “We have our small group out here that focuses on planetary materials, but we reach out to biology, engineering, physics and astronomy, and a lot of other departments on campus to really define space exploration and infrastructure.”
     Shearer also pointed out that New Mexico is a space-faring state and has a growing space exploration infrastructure. Spaceport America, the Very Large Array, and the various National Labs are excellent examples. There are also numerous private sector companies in New Mexico that are investing in space technology.
     Shearer added that “Billions are being invested now to develop the space economy of the moon–Earth, system. It’s extremely valuable to New Mexicans to be involved in the space economy to varying degrees. The purpose of this is also to reach out to the private sector and the national labs to involve them and help develop this New Mexico space economy. The UNM has championed these activities through the Sustainable Space Research Grand Challenge. Further, NASA has supported many of our research programs on the UNM campus. This research is putting us on the ground floor and we’re addressing some fundamental questions.”
     Ultimately, the intention is for the lunar samples to be returned and distributed to premier labs in order to analyze and interpret the data.
     Sharp said, “In the publication, we talk about the volatile species that we expect to return from the Artemis mission and how we might sample those to curate the most information possible about the moon.”
     The LPI examines photographic imagery from satellites orbiting the moon and makes maps of the temperature profiles of the whole region. While these indications help to map out the moon, Shearer and Sharp both say that further missions will confirm what’s actually there.
     Sharp concluded that “We are just in the very early phase of space exploration, and we don’t quite know what’s there yet. We don’t know how dangerous it is, how cold it is, or what we’re going to find. Each mission will give us new information that will enable missions to become more sophisticated as we move forward in the exploration of the moon.”Lunar and Planetary Institute