3 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img-4939.jpeg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nLISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity) is one of 10 payloads flying aboard the next delivery for NASA\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The instrument is equipped with a drilling system and thermal probe designed to dig into the lunar surface. <\/div>\nPhoto courtesy: Firefly Aerospace<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nEarth\u2019s nearest neighboring body in the solar system is its Moon<\/a>, yet to date humans have physically explored just 5% of its surface. It wasn\u2019t until 2023 \u2013 building on Apollo<\/a>-era data and more detailed studies made in 2011-2012 by NASA\u2019s automated GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory<\/a>) mission \u2013 that researchers conclusively determined that the Moon has a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.<\/p>\nAs NASA and its industry partners plan for continued exploration of the Moon under Artemis in preparation for future long-duration missions to Mars, improving our understanding of Earth\u2019s 4.5-billion-year-old Moon will help teams of researchers and astronauts find the safest ways to study and live and work on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n
That improved understanding is \u00a0the primary goal of a state-of-the-art science instrument called LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a>) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace\u2019s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander<\/a>.<\/p>\nDeveloped jointly by Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, LISTER will measure the flow of heat from the Moon\u2019s interior. Its sophisticated pneumatic drill will penetrate to a depth of three meters into the dusty lunar regolith<\/a>. Every half-meter it descends, the drilling system will pause and extend a custom-built thermal probe into the lunar regolith. LISTER will measure two different aspects of heat flow: thermal gradient, or the changes in temperature at various depths, and thermal conductivity, or the subsurface material\u2019s ability to let heat pass through it.<\/p>\n\u201cBy making similar measurements at multiple locations on the lunar surface, we can reconstruct the thermal evolution of the Moon,\u201d said Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, principal investigator for the mission and a geophysics professor at Texas Tech.\u00a0\u201cThat will permit scientists to retrace the geological processes that shaped the Moon from its start as a ball of molten rock, which gradually cooled off by releasing its internal heat into space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Demonstrating the drill\u2019s effectiveness could lead to more innovative drilling capabilities, enabling future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies.. The science collected by LISTER aims to contribute to our knowledge of lunar geology, improving our ability to establish a long-term presence on the Moon under the Artemis<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/img-4939.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>Earth\u2019s nearest neighboring body in the solar system is its Moon<\/a>, yet to date humans have physically explored just 5% of its surface. It wasn\u2019t until 2023 \u2013 building on Apollo<\/a>-era data and more detailed studies made in 2011-2012 by NASA\u2019s automated GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory<\/a>) mission \u2013 that researchers conclusively determined that the Moon has a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.<\/p>\n As NASA and its industry partners plan for continued exploration of the Moon under Artemis in preparation for future long-duration missions to Mars, improving our understanding of Earth\u2019s 4.5-billion-year-old Moon will help teams of researchers and astronauts find the safest ways to study and live and work on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n That improved understanding is \u00a0the primary goal of a state-of-the-art science instrument called LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services<\/a>) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace\u2019s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander<\/a>.<\/p>\n Developed jointly by Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, LISTER will measure the flow of heat from the Moon\u2019s interior. Its sophisticated pneumatic drill will penetrate to a depth of three meters into the dusty lunar regolith<\/a>. Every half-meter it descends, the drilling system will pause and extend a custom-built thermal probe into the lunar regolith. LISTER will measure two different aspects of heat flow: thermal gradient, or the changes in temperature at various depths, and thermal conductivity, or the subsurface material\u2019s ability to let heat pass through it.<\/p>\n \u201cBy making similar measurements at multiple locations on the lunar surface, we can reconstruct the thermal evolution of the Moon,\u201d said Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, principal investigator for the mission and a geophysics professor at Texas Tech.\u00a0\u201cThat will permit scientists to retrace the geological processes that shaped the Moon from its start as a ball of molten rock, which gradually cooled off by releasing its internal heat into space.\u201d<\/p>\n Demonstrating the drill\u2019s effectiveness could lead to more innovative drilling capabilities, enabling future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies.. The science collected by LISTER aims to contribute to our knowledge of lunar geology, improving our ability to establish a long-term presence on the Moon under the Artemis<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n