Apollo 17 soil sample container soon to be opened by ESA scientists after 50 years

Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) are soon to unwrap a special ‘gift’ that in its true sense is out of this world. According to the ESA, the ‘gift’ is a container with soil samples of the Moon that were collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1971, which saw humans land on the lunar surface for the final time. In fact, the agency even unveiled a piercing tool which it has built to open the container in the forthcoming weeks.

A ‘gift’ untouched for almost 50 years

(Image: Twitter/@ESA)

The lunar soil sample has not been touched since it was retrieved from the Moon and has remained packed in the vacuum container ever since. But the scientists are now ready to pierce open the Moon sample container as they aim to extract gases such as hydrogen, helium and noble gases that might still be present in the soil. The ESA revealed that for the first time, it is involved in the opening of the lunar soil container for a gas extraction experiment which is a part of the Apollo Next-Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) programme. Francesca McDonald, science and project lead of ESA’s contribution to ANGSA said as per ESA’s statement-

The opening and analyses of these samples now, with the technical advancements achieved since the Apollo era, can enable new scientific discoveries on the Moon. This can also inspire and inform a new generation of explorers. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the samples were collected in 1972 from a landslip deposit site after Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan hammered a 70 cm long cylindrical tube into the lunar surface. ESA revealed that the lower half of the sample was put into a vacuum chamber and has remained undisturbed ever since. Shedding more light on the importance of the experiment, he said that analyses of the preserved gases would offer totally new clues about the origin and evolution of elements on the Moon and within the early solar system.

The special piercing tool

(Image: Twitter/@ESA)

The tool that will be used to open the vacuum container is no ordinary object as it took 16-months for an international team to develop it. Timon Schild, who led the development of the opener, said as per ESA that, “This piercing tool is a one-of-a-kind system built for the sole purpose of puncturing the so-called 73001 Apollo sample container”. The object is also special as it has been designed to puncture the Moon sample vacuum container to aid in capturing the trapped gases as they escape.

Further talking about the experiment, McDonald added, “It is a privilege to be able to work amongst the treasure trove of ancient Moon samples that have witnessed the history of our Solar System, and be a part of a programme that can help to reveal their secrets”.

Image: Twitter/@ESA