NASA has just opened an intact lunar sample

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(CNN) - NASA scientists opened an intact sample of rock and Earth from the Moon that was brought by the Apollo 17 lunar mission, which returned to Earth in December 1972.

The samples opened Tuesday as part of NASA's Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative.

The purpose of these tests is to practice techniques to study future samples collected from the Moon in Artemis missions, which is NASA's mission on which the first woman and the next man on the Moon will land in 2024.

"Opening these samples will now allow new scientific discoveries on the Moon and allow a new generation of scientists to refine their techniques to better study future samples returned by Artemis astronauts," said Francis McCubbin, curator of astromaterials at NASA. "Our scientific technologies have greatly improved in the last 50 years and scientists have the opportunity to analyze these samples in ways that were not possible before."

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Most of the samples that were brought from the Apollo missions have been studied or are part of an ongoing investigation at NASA. However, several samples were carefully stored and reserved for analysis with more advanced technology as it develops.

"Today we can make measurements that were simply not possible during the years of the Apollo program," said Dr. Sarah Noble, an ANGSA program scientist. "The analysis of these samples will maximize Apollo's scientific return, in addition to allowing a new generation of scientists and curators to refine their techniques and help prepare future explorers for lunar missions planned in the 2020s and beyond."

NASA will use advances in techniques such as non-destructive 3D imaging, mass spectrometry and ultra high resolution microtomy to study the samples.

READ : Moon samples collected in the Apollo missions will be studied for the first time

"The findings of these samples will provide NASA with new ideas about the Moon, including the history of impacts on the lunar surface, how landslides occur on the lunar surface and how the lunar crust has evolved over time," he said. Charles Shearer, ANGSA co-leader scientist. "This research will help NASA better understand how volatile deposits on the Moon and other planetary bodies develop, evolve and interact."

NASA will equip astronauts with new instruments and tools to study the Moon for Artemis missions in 2024. Finally, NASA hopes that all this research will be used to prepare for the next phase of space exploration, which is sending astronauts to Mars .

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