Characterization of Lunar Polar Volatiles for Curation and ISRU, Year 2

Volatile-rich samples from the lunar poles are high-priority targets for both human explorers and scientists. Volatiles are located in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles, which remain at 30-70 K for the entirety of a lunar year. Precious lunar PSR samples could be irreparably altered if stored at high (70+K) temperatures, resulting in inaccurate assessments of the volatile abundance on the Moon. We propose to use capabilities developed in IRAD Year 1 to accomplish three goals. Goal 1: assess lunar volatile alteration under flight-like conditions continue development of a high-fidelity volatile-rich lunar simulant. Goal 2: increase sample storage capacity for curation and engineering tests. Goal 3: Conduct necessary ISRU tests for lunar operations. We will complete baseline storage evaluations using the lunar simulant developed at JSC. We will also incorporate an enhanced sample storage system to the lunar testbed constructed in IRAD Year 1, and conduct critical ISRU tests with JSC engineers working on those systems.

Technology Gap Being Addressed These ground-breaking activities are necessary to develop sample storage requirements for flight and to ensure safe, robust operations of hardware on the lunar surface. As the Artemis mission planning matures, we will incorporate Artemis-specific tests. This project will determine the ideal storage conditions for storage and transport of cold lunar samples, allowing ices to be preserved for scientific study. We will also perform tests to maximize the design effectiveness of ISRU and other hardware to be used at the lunar poles.

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