NASA's PRIME-1 mission, set to launch on Intuitive Machines' Athena lunar lander, will explore the Moon's subsurface for potential resources. The experiment will use the TRIDENT drill to collect samples and the MSOLO mass spectrometer to analyze their gas composition, providing insights into the distribution of trapped gases and the Moon's resource potential.
Credit: Intuitive Machines) is preparing to explore the Moon’s subsurface and analyze where lunar resources may reside.
The PRIME-1 experiment is one of the NASA payloads aboard the next lunar delivery through NASA’s CLPS initiative, set to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26, on Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander and explore the lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole.
The TRIDENT drill is equipped with carbide cutting teeth to penetrate even the toughest lunar materials. Unlike previous lunar drills used by astronauts during the Apollo missions, TRIDENT will be controlled from Earth. The drill may provide key information about subsurface soil temperatures as well as gain key insight into the mechanical properties of the lunar South Pole soil.
MOON EXPLORATION LUNAR RESOURCES SPACE TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIAL SPACE SUBSURFACE ANALYSIS
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