Lunar volatiles provide a potentially pristine record of the history of the Earth–Moon system in terms of both geologic activity and delivery of volatiles from the outer solar system. Efforts to return humans to the Moon present an unprecedented opportunity to determine the origin of volatiles stored in the ice stability regions but also pose a threat to the scientific value of these volatiles and the lunar exosphere because of the irreversible modification that human exploration will have on the polar volatile ecosystem. We outline here a model for using lunar volatile composition measurements to determine constraints on the origin of lunar volatiles. When applied to results returned by future missions, the results can help trace the history of lunar volcanic activity, solar wind surface chemistry, and volatile delivery to the Earth and Moon through impacts of comets, asteroids, and micrometeoroids. Comprehensive measurements of lunar volatile composition, like those that could be collected by NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover mission, are urgently needed before anthropogenic activity permanently compromises the scientific value of lunar volatiles.

The blooming of lunar exploration programs calls for a careful evaluation of the impact of anthropogenic activities on the native lunar environment. Propulsion system plumes are known to deposit a trail of contaminants on the lunar surface up to kilometers from the landing zone. The regolith in proximity of the landing point is mechanically stirred by the plume pressure, while dust can be lifted and transported up to a large distance. Besides these macroscopic effects, the simple presence of a lander standing on the surface affects the surrounding environment via significant outgassing. These effects are expected to strongly influence (and can potentially compromise) the success of science missions, including the study of volatile emission and exospheric species.Moreover, the very safety of human exploration missions, scheduled within the Artemis program, requires the numerical characterization of the blast zone generated by the lander exhaust. The experimentally-validated knowledge available to date is based on robotic landers or on the Apollo program. Upscaling this to Starship-scale landers requires the implementation of accurate numerical models, that account for the not-necessarily-rarefied nature of the flow.In this work, we aim to discuss the main challenges associated with the simulation of rarefied gas dynamic processes for lunar exploration and the required numerical tools. We consider selected real-life scenarios including a simulation of the blast region generated by an Apollo-size and a Starship-class lander, the study of outgassing from a prototype astronaut on a scientific instrument placed at a distance, and a gas-dynamic analysis of the recent Peregrine-One lunar mission. For such problems, we highlight the rarefaction regime and investigate the effect of molecular collisions on the overall flow field and on the local species concentration.

Astrobotic's Peregrine Mission-1 spacecraft experienced a propulsion system anomaly that prevented the lander from reaching the Moon. During the mission, several instruments operated successfully in cis-lunar space. Among them, the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) measured both the presence of outgassing water and nitrogen oxides traceable to the MON-25 oxidizer. We performed Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) studies of the oxidizer leak on Peregrine to characterize the gas diffusion from the leak to the instrument, mediated by inter-species collisions and gas-surface interaction. We conclude that the latter process was prevalent and that diffusion paths through Peregrine are necessary to explain the PITMS detections. Our DSMC study and estimation of Peregrine's outgassing rate suggest that, at the early stage of the mission, the spacecraft released water at a rate comparable to the Space Shuttle and at a much larger rate than typical spacecraft during science operations. This provides useful information for planning future operations of science instruments on commercial missions.

The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is a lunar volatiles detection and measurement mission that will land on Mons Mouton near Nobile crater, close to the Moon’s south pole. One of the analytical instruments embedded within the rover is the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument. VIPER’s data will ultimately be used to create lunar water resource maps that may enable a sustained presence on the lunar surface. As VIPER navigates several kilometers of terrain, its onboard analytical instrumentation will characterize the presence of volatiles along the traverse path and identify candidate locations for drilling. Upon selection of a drilling site, the rover will position itself and deploy an auguring, percussive drill down to 1 m depth. Upon extraction, regolith cuttings captured by the auger are deposited on the surface, an activity that will initiate the release of any volatile gases that are subsequently detected and quantified by MSolo. MSolo is designed to identify low-molecular-weight volatiles (between m / z 1 and 100) with unit mass resolution. Volatiles of interest include D / H and O18/O16-bearing species, including possible water contained within the lunar regolith. MSolo is a modified commercial off-the-shelf system, meaning the instrument is based on a commercially available unit that has been ruggedized for space applications.

As part of the Apollo Next‐Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) program, we provide bulk composition, mineralogy, petrology, and noble gas assays of lunar particles and soils from the top half of the 73001/2 double‐drive tube (i.e., 73002) studied by the ANGSA consortium. The particles are derived from lithologies of the South Massif, including anorthosites, anorthositic breccias, high‐Ti basalts, noritic impact‐melt breccias, agglutinates, and regolith breccias. The impact‐melt breccias are distinguished by their inclusion of high‐Mg spinel that may extend the compositional family of pink spinel troctolites. The noble gas data provide cosmic‐ray exposure ages representing the emplacement of the light mantle unit at 60 Ma preceded by soil exposure in an avalanche‐emplaced surface around 100 Ma. These measurements provide additional insight into the geologic evolution of the Apollo 17 site and the light mantle unit sampled by the double‐drive tube.

The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) was a mass spectrometer designed to measure lunar gases. PITMS flew on the first flight of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander via the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program in 2024 January. After launch, the lander suffered a propulsion system anomaly that prevented the mission from reaching the Moon, but PITMS collected 80 high-quality spectra while in cislunar space. PITMS observed abundant outgassing products from the Peregrine lander, including water, MON-25 oxidizer from the propulsion system leak, and traces of combustion products. PITMS data help constrain the nature of the propulsion system failure: oxidizer molecular ratios show that the leak released molecules rapidly enough for them to fully dissociate, and the high observed abundances imply that the oxidizer traveled within the lander surfaces rather than jetting into space. The amount of water offgassed by the spacecraft is substantially more than other planetary spacecraft, so the PITMS results suggest that instruments flying in the CLPS paradigm need to consider lander cleanliness. Though not successful in measuring the native lunar exosphere, the PITMS results showcase the capabilities of a mass spectrometer on board a lunar lander, along with lessons in pragmatism and flexibility that would enable such an instrument to ultimately be successful in the CLPS initiative.

The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) is a mass spectrometer instrument that operated during the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission-1 as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. This paper describes the instrument and investigation design, development, and planning conducted by the PITMS team, consisting of a successful partnership between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), The Open University, NASA, and ESA. PITMS was designed to measure the abundance and temporal variability of volatile species in the near-surface lunar exosphere from a landed platform on the lunar surface. The PITMS instrument consisted of a European Space Agency-provided Exospheric Mass Spectrometer (including sensor, electronics, controller, and power supply boards) and a GSFC wrapper that provided structural elements, thermal control, and a deployable dust cover. PITMS was designed to operate as a passive sampler, where ambient gases would enter PITMS through an aperture, diffuse around the mass analyzer cavity, become ionized by electron impact and trapped in an RF field, and then sequentially be released to a detector to build a mass spectrum. PITMS was capable of measuring species with a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) from 10 to 150 Da, with a mass resolution of approximately 0.5 amu. The PITMS science investigation was planned to be operated by GSFC with an international team of scientists. Though the mission did not achieve its lunar landing, information about the PITMS instrument and planning is provided to be able to understand and effectively use data that will be forthcoming from the investigation.

Abstract The Perseverance rover has collected seven oriented samples of sedimentary rocks, all likely older than the oldest signs of widespread life on Earth, at the exposed base of the western fan in Jezero crater, Mars. The samples include a sulfate‐ and clay‐bearing mudstone and sandstone, a fluvial sandstone from a stratigraphically low position at the fan front, and a carbonate‐bearing sandstone deposited above the sulfate‐bearing strata. All samples contain aqueously precipitated materials and most or all were aqueously deposited. Although the rover instruments have not confidently detected organic matter in the rocks from the fan front, the much more sensitive terrestrial instruments will still be able to search for remnants of prebiotic chemistries and past life, and study Mars's past habitability in the samples returned to Earth. The hydrated, sulfate‐bearing mudstone has the highest potential to preserve organic matter and biosignatures, whereas the carbonate‐bearing sandstones can be used to constrain when and for how long Jezero crater contained liquid water. Returned sample science analyses of sulfate, carbonate, clay, phosphate and igneous minerals as well as trace metals and volatiles that are present in the samples acquired at the fan front would provide transformative insights into past habitable environments on Mars, the evolution of its magnetic field, atmosphere and climate and the past and present cycling of atmospheric and crustal water, sulfur and carbon.

The Lunar Flashlight cubesat mission was designed and flown to collect new data on the abundance and distribution of water ice frost in lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) using active laser spectroscopy. Key advantages of active spectroscopy are that it can collect surface reflectance data in locations and conditions where passive spectroscopy cannot operate, specifically nightside locations where no indirect lighting is available, and in the deepest parts of PSRs where indirect lighting may be too faint for passive spectroscopy. Lunar Flashlight launched in 2022 but because of a propulsion system failure, did not make it to the Moon to conduct its science investigation. However, Lunar Flashlight proved to be an extremely successful technology demonstration mission, meeting or exceeding all its technology-focused mission goals, including demonstrating its instrument functionality. This paper describes the extensive ground and test campaigns to characterize the Lunar Flashlight laser reflectometer instrument and its planned utility for science observations, along with recommendations for future instrument design, development, verification, and use.

As a first step in preparing for the return of samples from the Moon by the Artemis Program, NASA initiated the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA). ANGSA was designed to function as a low-cost sample return mission and involved the curation and analysis of samples previously returned by the Apollo 17 mission that remained unopened or stored under unique conditions for 50 years. These samples include the lower portion of a double drive tube previously sealed on the lunar surface, the upper portion of that drive tube that had remained unopened, and a variety of Apollo 17 samples that had remained stored at −27 °C for approximately 50 years. ANGSA constitutes the first preliminary examination phase of a lunar “sample return mission” in over 50 years. It also mimics that same phase of an Artemis surface exploration mission, its design included placing samples within the context of local and regional geology through new orbital observations collected since Apollo and additional new “boots-on-the-ground” observations, data synthesis, and interpretations provided by Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt. ANGSA used new curation techniques to prepare, document, and allocate these new lunar samples, developed new tools to open and extract gases from their containers, and applied new analytical instrumentation previously unavailable during the Apollo Program to reveal new information about these samples. Most of the 90 scientists, engineers, and curators involved in this mission were not alive during the Apollo Program, and it had been 30 years since the last Apollo core sample was processed in the Apollo curation facility at NASA JSC. There are many firsts associated with ANGSA that have direct relevance to Artemis. ANGSA is the first to open a core sample previously sealed on the surface of the Moon, the first to extract and analyze lunar gases collected in situ, the first to examine a core that penetrated a lunar landslide deposit, and the first to process pristine Apollo samples in a glovebox at −20 °C. All the ANGSA activities have helped to prepare the Artemis generation for what is to come. The timing of this program, the composition of the team, and the preservation of unopened Apollo samples facilitated this generational handoff from Apollo to Artemis that sets up Artemis and the lunar sample science community for additional successes.

Research Article| December 01, 2023 Impact History of the Moon Barbara A. Cohen; Barbara A. Cohen NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA barbara.a.cohen@nasa.gov; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Carolyn H. van der Bogert; Carolyn H. van der Bogert Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms–Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany vanderbogert@uni-muenster.de; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William F. Bottke; William F. Bottke Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA bottke@boulder.swri.edu; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Natalie M. Curran; Natalie M. Curran NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USACatholic University of America, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771,USA natalie.m.curran@nasa.gov; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Caleb I. Fassett; Caleb I. Fassett NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA caleb.i.fassett@nasa.gov; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Harald Hiesinger; Harald Hiesinger Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms–Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany hiesinger@uni-muenster.de; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Katherine H. Joy; Katherine H. Joy School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK katherine.joy@manchester.ac.uk; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sara Mazrouei; Sara Mazrouei Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada sara.mazrouei.seidani@mail.utoronto.ca; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alexander Nemchin; Alexander Nemchin School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia a.nemchin@curtin.edu.au; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gregory A. Neumann; Gregory A. Neumann NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA gregory.a.neumann@nasa.gov; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Marc D. Norman; Marc D. Norman Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia marc.norman@anu.edu.au; Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nicolle E. B. Zellner Nicolle E. B. Zellner Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, MI 49224 USA nzellner@albion.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Barbara A. Cohen NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA Carolyn H. van der Bogert Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms–Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany William F. Bottke Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA Natalie M. Curran NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USACatholic University of America, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771,USA Caleb I. Fassett NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812, USA Harald Hiesinger Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms–Universität, 48149 Münster, Germany Katherine H. Joy School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK Sara Mazrouei Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B1, Canada Alexander Nemchin School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia Gregory A. Neumann NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA Marc D. Norman Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia Nicolle E. B. Zellner Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, MI 49224 USA barbara.a.cohen@nasa.gov; vanderbogert@uni-muenster.de; bottke@boulder.swri.edu; natalie.m.curran@nasa.gov; caleb.i.fassett@nasa.gov; hiesinger@uni-muenster.de; katherine.joy@manchester.ac.uk; sara.mazrouei.seidani@mail.utoronto.ca; a.nemchin@curtin.edu.au; gregory.a.neumann@nasa.gov; marc.norman@anu.edu.au; nzellner@albion.edu Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America First Online: 04 Dec 2023 Copyright © 2023 by the Mineralogical Society of AmericaMineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (2023) 89 (1): 373–400. https://doi.org/10.2138/rmg.2023.89.09 Article history First Online: 04 Dec 2023 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Barbara A. Cohen, Carolyn H. van der Bogert, William F. Bottke, Natalie M. Curran, Caleb I. Fassett, Harald Hiesinger, Katherine H. Joy, Sara Mazrouei, Alexander Nemchin, Gregory A. Neumann, Marc D. Norman, Nicolle E. B. Zellner; Impact History of the Moon. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 2023;; 89 (1): 373–400. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/rmg.2023.89.09 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyReviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry Search Advanced Search Establishing an absolute lunar impact chronology has important ramifications for understanding the early structure of the Solar System, to understand the evolution of both the dynamics and composition of the bodies. Our existing understanding of inner Solar System chronology is anchored to the crater density and analogy with impact flux rates on the Moon. The topic of lunar impact history has been the subject of numerous reviews (e.g., Hartmann et al. 2000; Ryder et al. 2000; Stöffler et al. 2006; Chapman et al. 2007; Fassett and Minton 2013; Bottke and Norman 2017; Zellner 2017... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

The Máaz formation consists of the first lithologies in Jezero crater analyzed by the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. This formation, investigated from Sols (Martian days) 1 to 201 and from Sols 343 to 382, overlies the Séítah formation (previously described as an olivine‐rich cumulate) and was initially suggested to represent an igneous crater floor unit based on orbital analyses. Using SuperCam data, we conducted a detailed textural, chemical, and mineralogical analyses of the Máaz formation and the Content member of the Séítah formation. We conclude that the Máaz formation and the Content member are igneous and consist of different lava flows and/or possibly pyroclastic flows with complex textures, including vesicular and non‐vesicular rocks with different grain sizes. The Máaz formation rocks exhibit some of the lowest Mg# (=molar 100 × MgO/MgO + FeO) of all Martian igneous rocks analyzed so far (including meteorites and surface rocks) and show similar basaltic to basaltic‐andesitic compositions. Their mineralogy is dominated by Fe‐rich augite to possibly ferrosilite and plagioclase, and minor phases such as Fe‐Ti oxides and Si‐rich phases. They show a broad diversity of both compositions and textures when compared to Martian meteorites and other surface rocks. The different Máaz and Content lava or pyroclastic flows all originate from the same parental magma and/or the same magmatic system, but are not petrogenetically linked to the Séítah formation. The study of returned Máaz samples in Earth‐based laboratories will help constrain the formation of these rocks, calibrate Martian crater counting, and overall, improve our understanding of magmatism on Mars.

Several laboratories have been investigating the feasibility of in situ K-Ar dating for use in future landing planetary missions. One drawback of these laboratory demonstrations is the insufficient analogy of the analyzed analog samples with expected future targets. We present the results obtained using the K-Ar laser experiment (KArLE) on two old and K-poor chondritic samples, Pultusk and Hvittis, as better lunar analogs. The KArLE instrument uses laser ablation to vaporize rock samples and quantifies K content by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Ar by quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS), and ablated mass by laser profilometry. We performed 64 laser ablations on the chondrites to measure spots with a range of K2O and Ar content and used the data to construct isochrons to determine the chondrite formation age. The KArLE isochron ages on Pultusk and Hvittis are 5059 +/- 892 Ma and 4721 +/- 793 Ma, respectively, which is within the uncertainty of published reference ages, and interpreted as the age of their formation. The uncertainty (2 sigma) on the KArLE ages obtained in this study is better than 20% (18% for Pultusk and 17% for Hvittis). The precision, which compares our obtained ages to the reference ages, is also better than 20% (11% for Pultusk and 4% for Hvittis). These results are encouraging for understanding the limits of this technique to measure ancient planetary samples and for guiding future improvements to the instrument.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater on 18 February 2021. After a 100‐sol period of commissioning and the Ingenuity Helicopter technology demonstration, Perseverance began its first science campaign to explore the enigmatic Jezero crater floor, whose igneous or sedimentary origins have been much debated in the scientific community. This paper describes the campaign plan developed to explore the crater floor's Máaz and Séítah formations and summarizes the results of the campaign between sols 100–379. By the end of the campaign, Perseverance had traversed more than 5 km, created seven abrasion patches, and sealed nine samples and a witness tube. Analysis of remote and proximity science observations show that the Máaz and Séítah formations are igneous in origin and composed of five and two geologic members, respectively. The Séítah formation represents the olivine‐rich cumulate formed from differentiation of a slowly cooling melt or magma body, and the Máaz formation likely represents a separate series of lava flows emplaced after Séítah. The Máaz and Séítah rocks also preserve evidence of multiple episodes of aqueous alteration in secondary minerals like carbonate, Fe/Mg phyllosilicates, sulfates, and perchlorate, and surficial coatings. Post‐emplacement processes tilted the rocks near the Máaz‐Séítah contact and substantial erosion modified the crater floor rocks to their present‐day expressions. Results from this crater floor campaign, including those obtained upon return of the collected samples, will help to build the geologic history of events that occurred in Jezero crater and provide time constraints on the formation of the Jezero delta.

The first samples collected by the Mars 2020 mission represent units exposed on the Jezero Crater floor, from the potentially oldest Séítah formation outcrops to the potentially youngest rocks of the heavily cratered Máaz formation. Surface investigations reveal landscape‐to‐microscopic textural, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence for igneous lithologies, some possibly emplaced as lava flows. The samples contain major rock‐forming minerals such as pyroxene, olivine, and feldspar, accessory minerals including oxides and phosphates, and evidence for various degrees of aqueous activity in the form of water‐soluble salt, carbonate, sulfate, iron oxide, and iron silicate minerals. Following sample return, the compositions and ages of these variably altered igneous rocks are expected to reveal the geophysical and geochemical nature of the planet's interior at the time of emplacement, characterize martian magmatism, and place timing constraints on geologic processes, both in Jezero Crater and more widely on Mars. Petrographic observations and geochemical analyses, coupled with geochronology of secondary minerals, can also reveal the timing of aqueous activity as well as constrain the chemical and physical conditions of the environments in which these minerals precipitated, and the nature and composition of organic compounds preserved in association with these phases. Returned samples from these units will help constrain the crater chronology of Mars and the global evolution of the planet's interior, for understanding the processes that formed Jezero Crater floor units, and for constraining the style and duration of aqueous activity in Jezero Crater, past habitability, and cycling of organic elements in Jezero Crater.

In situ geologic context mapping based on rover and helicopter observations provides documentation of a nearly continuous record of geology and exposed surface structure over a 120 m-wide corridor along the traverse of the Mars 2020/Perseverance rover. The results record the geologic context of Mars 2020 campaign sites and sample sites, including the local extent of bedrock outcrops, stratigraphy, attitude, and structure from imaging and rover-based remote sensing, and outcrop lithology based on in situ proximity science. Mapping identifies a sequence of igneous lithologies including (a) early mafic, possibly intrusive, rocks; (b) pervasively fractured and deeply altered massive bedrock of undetermined protolith; (c) buried and exhumed lava flows with pahoehoe and aa textures; (d) several varieties of regolith; and (e) small impact craters.