{"id":40544,"date":"2021-07-26T18:59:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T22:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-472795"},"modified":"2023-10-11T15:43:54","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T19:43:54","slug":"apollo-to-artemis-drilling-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/apollo-to-artemis-drilling-on-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"Apollo to Artemis: Drilling on the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Fifty years ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/apollo\/apollo-15\">Apollo 15<\/a> lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, sending Commander David R. Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred M. Worden, and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin on the first of three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/apollo\/missions\/apollo15.html\">Apollo \u201cJ\u201d missions<\/a>. These missions gave astronauts the opportunity to explore the Moon for longer periods using upgraded and more plentiful scientific instruments than ever before. Apollo 15 was the first mission where astronauts used the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hq.nasa.gov\/alsj\/WOTM\/WOTM-Drilling.html\" rel=\"noopener\">Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD<\/a>) and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/marshall\/history\/this-week-in-nasa-history-first-use-of-the-lunar-roving-vehicle-july-31.html\">Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"A mini-panorama combining two photographs taken by Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin at the end of the second Apollo 15 moonwalk in 1971.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg 2353w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=300,142 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=768,365 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=1024,486 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=1536,729 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=2048,972 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=400,190 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=600,285 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=900,427 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=1200,570 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?resize=2000,949 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">This mini-panorama combines two photographs taken by Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin, from the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) site, at the end of the second Apollo 15 moonwalk on August 1, 1971. Scott is leaning to his right and is putting down the Apollo Lunar Surface drill used to take core samples and set up a heat flow experiment. The Solar Wind Spectrometer is in the right foreground. The min-pan of photographs AS15-11845 and 11847 was combined by Erik van Meijgaarden, volunteer contributor to the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal site.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong>Erik van Meijgaarden<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Scott and Irwin would land on the Moon and use the ALSD at <a href=\"https:\/\/images.nasa.gov\/details-as15-87-11849\" rel=\"noopener\">the site<\/a> where they set up several scientific instruments during the nearly 67 hours they were on the surface of the Moon. The tool was a rotary-percussive drill that used a combined motion that hammered a rotating drill bit into the surface to make a hole. The overall purpose of gathering core samples was part of NASA\u2019s lunar geology studies to learn more about the composition of the Moon and discover more about its history by looking at different kinds of rocks, including some from below the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, NASA is going back to the Moon as part of the agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/artemisprogram\">Artemis<\/a> missions and has a new drill headed to the lunar surface as a commercially delivered payload via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/commercial-lunar-payload-services\">Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a> initiative. The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) is key to locating ice and other resources on the Moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHoneybee Robotics designed the TRIDENT drill for NASA to sample lunar regolith,\u201d said Amy Eichenbaum, the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) deputy project manager. \u201cTRIDENT will help understand the physical properties of the lunar regolith while also allowing analysis of the resources present in samples taken from various depths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TRIDENT is also a rotary-percussive drill, but one major difference between it and its Apollo counterpart is that TRIDENT does not need astronauts to operate it manually. Honeybee Robotics originally partnered with NASA through the <a href=\"https:\/\/sbir.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Small Business Innovation Research program<\/a>, a highly competitive program that encourages small businesses to engage in federal research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/game_changing_development\/projects\/PRIME-1\">Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1)<\/a> will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. For the first time, NASA will robotically sample and analyze for ice from below the surface. PRIME-1 will use TRIDENT to drill in a single location at a site with a high likelihood of having water \u2013 whether in liquid or ice form. It will drill down about 3 feet (1 meter) below the surface, each time bringing up samples that NASA will analyze with a scientific instrument \u2013 the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/59_vhOYoWWs\" rel=\"noopener\">Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) performs testing at Honeybee Robotics.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=600,450 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=900,675 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=1200,900 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_testing.jpg?resize=2000,1500 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) performs testing at Honeybee Robotics in 2021 within the TRIDENT Engineering Development Unit. TRIDENT is a drill on the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1), the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon, scheduled to take flight in late 2022.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong>Honeybee Robotics<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cMSolo will measure water ice and other volatiles released from the sample brought to the surface by the TRIDENT drill,\u201d said Dr. Janine Captain, the principal investigator for MSolo. \u201cThese measurements will help us start to understand the distribution of resources on the lunar surface, a key to enabling a long-term presence on the Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apollo 15 landed near the Hadley Rille, a long, deep channel-like gorge in the Moon\u2019s surface, which was at the base of the Apennines Mountains to the north of the Moon\u2019s equator. PRIME-1\u2019s destination is the Moon\u2019s South Pole \u2013 new territory far from all the Apollo landing sites \u2013 a location very interesting because NASA has previously detected water there from space. However, gathering more accurate data requires PRIME-1, like ALSD, to land and drill into the surface to examine what is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What PRIME-1 discovers will help to update resource models for where explorers are most likely to find water on the Moon. About a year after the PRIME-1 mission, NASA will send an exploratory rover \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/viper\">Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER<\/a> \u2013 to the surface. VIPER is NASA\u2019s first mobile robotic mission to the Moon, and will carry a TRIDENT drill and scientific instruments that enable it to directly analyze water ice on the surface and subsurface of the Moon at varying depths and temperature conditions. VIPER will explore multiple sites on the lunar South Pole for about 100 days.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"The brush assembly for The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain, or TRIDENT.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg 3024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=300,208 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=768,533 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=1024,710 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=1536,1066 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=2048,1421 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=400,278 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=600,416 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=900,624 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=1200,833 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/trident_brush_assembly.jpg?resize=2000,1388 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The brush assembly for The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) shown in close up during testing at Honeybee Robotics in 2021 within the TRIDENT Engineering Development Unit. TRIDENT is a drill on both the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon and Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, NASA\u2019s first mobile robotic mission to the Moon.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\"><strong>Honeybee Robotics<\/strong><\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>PRIME-1 and VIPER will build upon the legacy of Apollo 15 by using drills and rovers, allowing NASA the chance to look below the surface and detect what is there. Much like Apollo 15, NASA is preparing to send new capabilities to the Moon that will enable people to stay there for longer than ever before, because learning how to find and use water is a key to living and working on the Moon and other deep space destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Apollo missions first introduced the concept of drilling to provide subsurface understanding of a foreign world,\u201d said Dan Andrews, VIPER Project Manager. \u201cPRIME-1 and VIPER will expand the state of the art as we look to a future of sustainable exploration and learning how to live off the land.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fifty years ago, Apollo 15 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, sending Commander David R. Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred M. Worden, and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin on the first of three Apollo \u201cJ\u201d missions. These missions gave astronauts the opportunity to explore the Moon for longer periods using upgraded and more plentiful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":426,"featured_media":34401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2862,2854,2713,2927,2681,10574,2801,2846,3334,2656,2655,13004,3338,10751],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[10285,3917],"coauthors":[12328],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Apollo to Artemis: Drilling on the Moon","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/apollo-to-artemis-drilling-on-the-moon\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/apollo-to-artemis-drilling-on-the-moon\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Leejay Lockhart"}],"creator":["Leejay Lockhart"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Missions","VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)","Kennedy Space Center","Ames Research Center","Apollo","Apollo 15","Artemis","Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)","Commercial Space","For Researchers","Game Changing Development Program","Humans in Space","Research and Technology at Kennedy Space Center","Small Business Innovation Research \/ Small Business"],"dateCreated":"2021-07-26T22:59:00Z","datePublished":"2021-07-26T22:59:00Z","dateModified":"2023-10-11T19:43:54Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Apollo to Artemis: Drilling on the Moon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/kennedy\/apollo-to-artemis-drilling-on-the-moon\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2021-07-26T22:59:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover),Kennedy Space Center,Ames Research Center,Apollo,Apollo 15,Artemis,Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS),Commercial Space,For Researchers,Game Changing Development Program,Humans in Space,Research and Technology at Kennedy Space Center,Small Business Innovation Research \/ Small Business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Leejay Lockhart\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":4,"time_ago":"3 years","featured_image":{"id":34401,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/a15pan11845-7_1.jpg","title":"a15pan11845-7_1","alt":"A mini-panorama combining two photographs taken by Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin at the end of the second Apollo 15 moonwalk in 1971.","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/426"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":539104,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40544\/revisions\/539104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40544"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=40544"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=40544"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=40544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}