[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7008\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHow to keep lunar samples safe\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 1969, the Apollo 12 mission retrieved a camera that had been left on the moon by an earlier spacecraft. When it was analysed, scientists discovered some bacteria \u2013 \u003Cem\u003EStreptococcus mitis \u003C\/em\u003E\u2013 that are found in humans. While the origin of the bacteria was \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.space.com\/11536-moon-microbe-mystery-solved-apollo-12.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ehotly debated\u003C\/a\u003E, the incident highlighted the problem of cross-contamination \u2013 something that could invalidate the analysis of any samples brought back from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/moon-history-museum-and-we-ve-only-visited-gift-shop.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Efuture lunar missions\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiven the potential moon and other space missions coming up in the next decade, there will also be more of a need for better ways\u0026nbsp;of handling and analysing the material.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne solution is to use lunar rovers to analyse the moon\u2019s environment in situ, but\u0026nbsp;a key challenge with this, according to Diego Urbina from Belgium-based company Space Applications Services, is the traditional huge expense and difficulty of transporting and using these vehicles.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUrbina works on a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/205949\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ELUVMI\u003C\/a\u003E, which is developing a lightweight, low-cost rover weighing about 45kg. In January, the team tested a 60kg prototype over two days in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to see how it performed autonomously in navigating hazardous obstacles and moon-mimicking surfaces, from rugged terrain to sandy dunes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018That went really well. It proved that the concept worked, that it delivered the functions we wanted it to, and the rover\u2019s drill worked correctly,\u2019 said Urbina. \u2018We\u2019re hoping that by the mid-2020s, if all goes well, we could have LUVMI ready for the moon.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team hopes that LUVMI could be sent to look at the characteristics of the moon\u2019s water ice \u2013 the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/115\/36\/8907\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eexistence of which was confirmed last year\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 as well as the chemicals in the crust and atmosphere, known as volatiles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt could also explore ways to extract oxygen and water for use by humans and as fuel by vehicles and satellites, potentially aiding future missions. \u2018We expect this to be a kind of exponential effect \u2013 that once you can extract resources, these enable many things that can help you extract more resources and expand into the solar system,\u2019 said Urbina.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESweet spot\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUrbina explained that the LUVMI rover is much smaller than traditional government-backed ones, but also larger than the more commercial miniature ones, such as those designed for Google\u2019s Lunar XPRIZE before it was cancelled last year.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We\u2019re at a nice sweet spot where it is small enough that your launch costs are not too high and big enough that you can deliver a nice suite of payloads and do something interesting,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERather than having six wheels like some other models, the LUVMI rover only has four, which Urbina says makes it more energy-effective while also keeping it highly mobile. This is enabled by an adjustable suspension system that allows the chassis to move up and down and more easily put sensors in contact with the lunar surface as it drives along.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike traditional rovers that transfer samples to the lunar surface after drilling into rock, LUVMI will also aim to cut analysis time in half and reduce the risk of damaging the materials by measuring them in situ rather than returning them to Earth. It will do this by drilling\u0026nbsp;into the ground with its sampler, which uses heat to release the volatiles to be measured.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018There are many experiments where you need to actually have the sample in your hands in a lab to do them.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Sara Russell, Natural History Museum, London, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut while analysing samples on the moon could yield a certain amount of information, there\u2019s nothing like having part of the moon in front of you to look at on Earth, says Professor Sara Russell at the Natural History Museum in London, UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There\u2019s lots of things that an in situ rover or orbital mission can do, but there are many experiments where you need to actually have the sample in your hands in a lab to do them,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Russell said this is necessary for studies such as precise isotope measurements to determine the ages or chemical history of samples, or detailed examinations of organic material to assess the possibility of life elsewhere in the solar system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is part of a team that is developing a plan to build a dedicated pan-European facility to properly curate samples returned from space, protecting them from contamination and preserving them in pristine condition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECuration\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer role, as leader of a project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/193697\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEURO-CARES\u003C\/a\u003E, was to bring together scientists and engineers from across Europe to plan a European Sample Curation Facility (ESCF) to meet the needs of sample return missions over the coming decades.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There\u2019s a lot of commonality in what we need to do, and any European space mission will be an international venture that\u2019s a collaboration of several different countries,\u2019 explained Prof. Russell. \u2018So it was important that we came together to share our expertise and create something that would be more Europe-wide.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApart from uniting their knowledge from previous space research, the researchers looked around curation facilities on other continents, such as those of NASA and Japan\u2019s JAXA. \u2018They were brilliant in sharing their lessons learnt,\u2019 said Prof. Russell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe said that any research facility should be modular, with space to add new buildings to protect samples coming from very different environments and avoid cross-contamination. \u2018The rule of thumb is that samples should be kept in a similar condition to how they are on the surface of their body,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Prof. Russell, the curation of lunar samples themselves is relatively straightforward because of the half-century of legacy knowledge gained from the Apollo moon missions \u2013 making starting with the moon \u2018really good, easy and doable\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut, she said, samples from bodies such as Mars are \u2018a whole different kettle of fish\u2019 compared with the sterile nature of the moon. There is a need to take account of the conditions of the Martian atmosphere and the possibility that bugs could be brought back to Earth. That gives them a \u2018restricted\u2019 status that involves a whole set of protocols for protection on Earth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis could also necessitate, for example, some kind of tent that could be erected where a sample lands for initial work before being taken to its final curation facility.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team estimates that building an ESCF for curating just unrestricted samples would cost between \u20ac10 million and \u20ac20 million, and over \u20ac100 million for one that analysed restricted samples too. Prof. Russell says this is a relatively small outlay given the overall cost of missions, with current asteroid sample return missions such as Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx budgeted at hundreds of millions of euros and a Mars one likely to cost billions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team has not yet settled on a specific site and would need to seek funding to build it as a next step. Prof. Russell says, however, that work on an ESCF should begin at least seven years before samples are likely to be returned to Earth \u2013 and with missions possibly coming back from the moon and elsewhere within a 10-year time frame from now, this may heighten the urgency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s brought home that we really need to start thinking about it now,\u2019 said Prof. Russell. \u2018A facility would open up a whole new area of science, some of which we don\u2019t even know about yet.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-7ylpo6ucjls4ixpkrrm-lszjbmzmlkkvm4ih-cai80y\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-7Ylpo6ucJls4IXpkrRM-lSZJBmzmlkKvm4ih_cAI80Y\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]