Apollo Field Methodology: Establishing a Baseline and ... · Apollo Field Methodology: Establishing...

Clark 600 Director Seminar 052610 1 of 13

Apollo Field Methodology: Establishing a Baseline and Assessing Opportunities for Future Planetary Exploration

P.E. Clark

Catholic University of America at NASA/GSFC


Apollo Approach establishes Baseline, illuminates Opportunities

Extraordinary challenges led to new and revolutionary approach.

Analysis of performance provides ‘lessons learned’ for what achievable/essential in human performance, mobility, field station selection, sampling strategy, tools and instruments.

Resource USGS archive (Apollo Field Training/ Simulation/Planning) and online Apollo Surface Journal allow analysis.

Evidence for a rigorous and effective approach to science activities ranging from geological field work to deploying field instruments despite extreme limitations.

Updating of baseline (for science requirements) for current needs (intensive ‘triage’ in situ), create opportunities for instrument package creation, harnessing technologies already identified as enabling.

Opportunities for development

Establish Baseline for Requirements, Capabilities “What’s Possible, What Works”

Update incorporating current need for down select in situ

Translate into need for in situ analysis tools and enabling technologies

Apollo Methodology Analysis


Why should anyone care about Apollo field methodology? Done well In Situ Sample Collection/Site Characterization provides...

understanding of terrestrial planetary formation and ongoing processes

AND opportunity to study space environment as function of time (radiation/particle/field/regolith interactions) recorded in rocks and regolith thus magnetospheric physics, astrophysics, heliophysics.


Importance of Precursors: test critical capabilities, provide reconnaissance data.

Ranger: deep space navigation, rendezvous, communication, first ‘close-ups’.

Orbiter: orbital insertion, plan view of potential landing sites at nominal (1m) resolution.

Surveyor: regolith support for lander, first in situ data, ‘boots on ground’ view.


Constraints and Requirements: Far more demanding than terrestrial expeditions (logistical complexity, environmental protection (life support), cost) greatly restricting resources (mass, volume, power, bandwidth, and time).

Constraints to crew:

Lived with best reconnaissance with limitations ‘on the ground’.

Flexibly used plans for routes, stops, deployments.

Relied on analog planning/simulation/training and near real time ‘backroom’.

Had to capture site character in very little time (3 EVAs of up to 24 hours in the field for the later J missions).

Were restricted to 10’s of km in the rover and 10’s of m on foot.

Focused on sampling but also deployed instruments.

Excellent training (a la Gene Shoemaker), combined with intrinsic resourcefulness and honed problem solving skills essential to assess and articulate surroundings with the appropriate level of detail and clarity.


Documentation: No writing, no field notebook. Instead streaming audio description and panoramic/portrait pictures to provide site and sample context.

Thus, descriptions required training to be very systematic, logical, flexible as opposed to dogmatic, with vocabulary understood by all.


Simultaneous Ongoing Planning/ Simulation/Training: intense, interactive, for ‘extended’ crew.

Planned for access to high priority features via route minimizing required time, distance, and relief.

Major activity surface and subsurface sampling.

Orbiter provided ~1m resolution coverage, comparable resolution aerial data had been used in simulation/training with terrestrial analogs.

Photographic maps with path and major landmarks identified easiest to follow in the field, and used on the Moon.


Equipment: heavy emphasis on sampling with limited flexibility, dexterity.

Geological surface sample collection tools (rock hammer and chisel, tongs, rake and shovel, scale) required minimal redesign, worked well.

Variety of scoops for collection of ‘traverse’ regolith samples including one designed for rapid collection from rover seat.

Subsurface sampling devices (manual shallow drive tubes (20-30 centimeters) and the powered regolith drill (up to 2 meters in 40 cm stem sections) problematic for lunar regolith.

Included site characterization tools (e.g., active seismic experiment) and in situ instrument packages.

Instrument Time on the Moon


Sampling and Site Characterization: Primary activity. Systematic yet flexible. Methodology and techniques developed during training.

Planner Identified, prioritized Field Stations typically near outcrops or boulders. Between station traverse samples collected at tens to hundreds of meters intervals.

Planning documents describe sampling only in terms of allotted time and likely site geology, but sampling technique implicit, discernable in Apollo Lunar Surface Journals.

Astronauts time motion trained. 3 to 4 prime sampling sites reachable on foot from rover, separated by tens of meters, at stations. Systematic sampling 15 to 20 minutes at each site.

Typical EVA netted 30 to 35 kg of samples from 4 to 5 major stations, 25 to 30 km drive, half time at stations.


Apollo 16 traverses (left), orbital image (top right) and ground photo (bottom middle) of landing site. Typical rocks, include breccia (left) with clasts containing dark volcanic material, impact melt (middle), and bright crustal fragments (extreme right).

Schematic Geological Cross–Section of the Apollo 16 Landing Site Area from N to S (modified from Spudis and Pieters, 1991) illustrating the complexity introduced by repeated excavation and deposit of impact ejecta and melt of highland crust, as well as the stratigraphic relationship between the younger Cayley Formation, the surrounding Descartes Formation, and an even older underlying formation.

Apollo 16: Multiple Working Hypothesis ‘Surprise’


Matching Target Characteristics and Architecture StyleMalapert Landing Site/Multiple Field Trips/Base Camp Return vs. Marius Hills Sortie


Future Lunar/Planetary Field Work Application: What are lessons learned?

Now: Baseline established for effective documentation, field methodology, advance analoging (for humans and robots until ‘target of opportunity’ autonomy).

Need access to more challenging targets. Potential to create in situ ‘information overload’.

Have greatly expanded basemaps, new findings (e.g., LRO), instrumentation advances applicable for in situ measurements and hands free documentation.

New issue: more limited mass available for sample return, characterization of subsurface (for volatiles).

Relevant to NASA: developing ‘triage’ and in situ volatile characterization instruments and supporting technology to reduce required resources for power (ULT), mass (ULP), and moving parts (minimum sample preparation):

Examples: Combined XRF/XRD (CMIST), mass spectrometers (VAPOR, ChemCam (laser technology), dust mitigation (electrostatically –based SPARCLED), as improvements in Apollo sampling and site characterization process.


Technologies ‘Game Changing’ for SMD and ESMD Needs


Further Study Material


LEAG Goals/Objectives/Investigations Summary (Science and Human Occupation Overlap)

Goal Sci-A: Understand the formation, evolution, and current state of the Moon.

Objective Sci-A-1: Understand the environmental impacts of lunar explorationbaseline lunar environment and human impact

Objective Sci-A-2: Development/implementation of sample return technologies/protocolsa sampling strategyb curation, packaging, transportc field and laboratory studies to aid sampling processd enhance curatorial facilities to handle volatiles

Objective Sci-A-3: Characterize the environment and processes in lunar polar regions a map polar regionsb characterize cold traps, volatile interactions, and transport mechanismsc characterize effects of variable illuminationd bedrock geology

Objective Sci-A-4: Understand dynamical evolution and space weathering of the regolitha structure, stratigraphy, bedrock interface of regolithb variability and relationship to underlying rockc space weathering processes, volatile interactions and transport mechanisms

Objective Sci-A-5: Understand lunar differentiation a rock inventoryb relationships, ages of mare, nonmare rocksc composition, variability, size of core, mantle, crust

Objective Sci-A-6: Understand volcanic processesa how magma generated, transported, emplacedb physical characteristics of volcanic featuresc role of volatiles

Objective Sci-A-7: Understand the impact processa formation of simple, complex, multi-ring impact structureb impact modification, redistribution of materialsc origin and evolution basin melt sheetsd potential for impact-triggered magmatisme production megaregolith



Objective Sci-A-8: Determine the Moon’s stratigraphy, structure, and geological history a bombardment historyb stratigraphy of major terranesc tectonic history

Objective Sci-A-9: Understand formation of the Earth-Moon systema bulk composition crust and mantleb early thermal history

Goal Sci-B: Use the Moon as a “witness plate” for solar system evolution.

Objective Sci-B-1: Understand inner solar system impact history as recorded on Moon. a impact flux as function of timeb composition and source impactorsc impact hazard to Earth-Moon

Objective Sci-B-2: Regolith as a recorder of extra-lunar processes.a volatiles and their variabilityb variations in cosmic radiation, solar constant, solar wind and solar flaresc find meteoritic debris (from Earth?)

Goal Sci-C: Use the Moon as a platform for astrophysical, heliophysical, and Earth- observing studies.

Objective Sci-C-1: Astrophysical Investigations using the Moona seeds of galaxy structureb highest energies probec tests of strong equivalence principle in gravity field theoryd site suitability characterizatione telescopes at Earth-Sun L2



Objective Sci-C-2: Heliophysical Investigations using the Moona near lunar EM and plasma environmentb remnant crustal magnetic fieldsc magnetotail dynamicsd dust-plasma interaction in exosphere and surfacee heliospheric boundaryf low frequency solar radio astronomyg Geospace from moonh composition solar windi high energy solar outputj sun role in climate changek space weather, radiation bombardment

Objective Sci-C-3: Earth Science Investigations using the Moona lightningb top of atmospherec albedo, IR, studiesd radar interferometrye land surface and poles variation



Goal Sci-D: Use the unique lunar environment as a research tool.

Objective Sci-D-1: Investigate and characterize the fundamental interactions of combustion and buoyant convection in lunar gravity. combustion.Objective Sci-D-2: Perform tests to understand and possibly discover new regimes of combustion. Objective Sci-D-3: Investigate interactions of multiphase combustion processes and convection at lunar gravity.Objective Sci-D-4: Use the unique environment of the lunar surface to perform experiments in the area of fundamental physics. fundamental physicsObjective Sci-D-5: Obtain experimental data to anchor multiphase flow models in partial gravity environment. Fluid physics, heat transferObjective Sci-D-6: Study interfacial flow with and without temperature variation to anchor theoretical/numerical models.Objective Sci-D-7: Study behavior of granular media in the lunar environment.Objective Sci-D-8: Investigate precipitation behavior in supercritical water in partial gravity environment. materials ProcessingObjective Sci-D-9: Investigate the production of oxygen from lunar regolith in lunar gravity.Objective Sci-D-10: Investigate the behavior of liquid-phase sintering under lunar gravity.

Objective Sci-D-11: Study the fundamental biological and physiological effects of the integrated lunar environment on human health and the fundamental biological processes and subsystems upon which health depends.Objective Sci-D-12: Study the key physiological effects of the combined lunar environment on living systems and the effect of countermeasures.Objective Sci-D-13: Evaluate consequences of long-duration exposure to lunar gravity on the human musculo-skeletal system.Objective Sci-D-14: Understand the impact of Lunar environments on multiple generations of terrestrial life forms that impact human health.Objective Sci-D-15: Monitor real-time environmental variables affecting safe operations, which includes monitoring for meteoroids, micrometeoroids, and other space debris that could potentially impact the lunar surface.

http://www.nd.edu/~cneal/LER/Objective Sci-D-12.htm





1) ASE Mortar Package Assembly 2) Heat Flow Experiment electronics box3) Solar Wind Spectrometer4) Suprathermal Ion Detector/Cold Cathode Ion

Gauge5) Lunar Surface Magnetometer6) Charged Particle Lunar Environment7) Passive Siesmic Experiment8) Laser Ranging Retroreflector9) Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites Experiment10) Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment11) Lunar Surface Gravimeter

Experiment Time on the Moon


Apollo 16 traverses (left), orbital image (top right) and ground photo (bottom middle) of landing site. Typical rocks, include breccia (left) with clasts containing dark volcanic material, impact melt (middle), and bright crustal fragments (extreme right).


Schematic Geological Cross–Section of the Apollo 16 Landing Site Area from N to S (modified from Spudis and Pieters, 1991) illustrating the complexity introduced by repeated excavation and deposit of impact ejecta and melt of highland crust, as well as the stratigraphic relationship between the younger Cayley Formation, the surrounding Descartes Formation, and an even older underlying formation.


Apollo 15 traverses (left), orbital image (top right) and ground photo(middle right) of landing site. Most significant samples include (left to right along bottom) Imbrium basin impact melt rock, the oldest piece of crust collected called ‘genesis rock’, and young very low titanium flood basalt, as well as (insert above), the first pyroclastic material discovered, green glass.


Schematic Geological Cross–Section of the Apollo 15 Landing Site Area from SSE to NNW (modified from Spudis and Pieters, 1991) illustrating the complex nature of the interface between underlying crustal structures generated by impact represented by Hadley Delta, crustal impact debris generated by several major impacts, and episodic volcanic plains formation subsequent to Imbrium basin formation.


Apollo 17 traverses (left), oblique orbital image (top right) and ground photo (middle right) of landing site. Typical rocks include (bottom left to right) crustal (highland rocks) like olivine– bearing troctolite (left), norite (middle), and the pyroclastic find (orange glass).


Schematic Geological Cross–Section of the Apollo 17 Landing Site Area from SW to NE (modified from Spudis and Pieters, 1991) illustrating complexity of interface between mare filled graben Littrow Valley and surrounding mountains (Serenitatis rim), as well as distribution of diverse materials found in the area, including light mantle (South Massif landslide) and dark mantle overlying older mare basalt in the valley, crustal ejecta and breccias of the massifs, Sculptured Hills material.


Architecture: Malapert Landing Site/Multiple Field Trips/Base Camp Return.

2 Pressurized rovers, No Mobile Lab. Traverses in features of interest barely doable in three days (between recharges). Minimum 3 week stay.


CXRDF Concept, Gendreau, Arzoumanian, Clark


SPARCLED•Based on concept of ion and/or electron beams, referred to as ionic sweepers used for active control of the flow of potential across conducting and non-conducting surfaces of spacecraft (e.g., POLAR) in a highly charged environment (Comfort et al., 1998).

• SPARCLE, Space Plasma Alleviation of Regolith Concentrations in the Lunar Environment (Farrell, 2006; Clark et al., 2009; Curtis et al., 2006) using electron gun designed to be compact, low power device for use on planetary surfaces.

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