[P-PS08] Lunar Science and Exploration

[PPS08-P05] Current status of consideration of in-situ sample selection for lunar sample return

*Hiroshi Nagaoka¹, Tomokatsu Morota², Yuichiro Cho², Yusuke Nakauchi¹, Seiji Sugita², Makiko Ohtake³, Haruhisa Tabata⁴, Masahiro KAYAMA², Takafumi Niihara⁵, Risa Miyazaki⁴, Mari Aida⁴, Kasumi Yogata⁴, Kazuto Saiki¹, Tetsuo Yoshimitsu⁴, Osamu Mori⁴, Takanao Saiki⁴ (1.Ritsumeikan University, 2.The Univ. of Tokyo, 3.University of Aizu, 4.JAXA, 5.Okayama University of Science)

Keywords:Sample Return, In-situ analyses, Primordial crust, Impact-melt rock

The Artemis program will promote to return samples from the Moon to advance important science of the Moon. For future sample return missions, we contribute to the following two scientific objectives: 1) To constrain on lunar formation conditions by the lunar magma ocean (LMO) and bulk silicate moon composition by returning primordial crust rocks, purest anorthosite (PAN) (Nagaoka et al. 2023 Icarus; Ohtake et al. 2009 Nature); 2) To reconstruct impact history in the early solar system and verify the late heavy bombardment hypothesis by returning impact melt rocks from i.e., the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) and Nectaris basins (Morota et al. 2024 LPSC). Our science objectives are well matched with Science Traceability Matrix (STM) of the Artemis Science Goals (ARTEMIS III Science definition team report (2020)):1. understanding planetary processes, 2. understand character and origin of lunar polar volatiles, 3. interpreting the impact history of the Earth-Moon system.

Appropriate sampling site of PAN and impact melt rock has been investigated with the remote sensing data, and their exposures locate at steep slopes and boulder dense locations around craters (Morota et al. 2024; Nagaoka et al. 2023). To return fresh samples from large boulders recently exposed from their outcrops (more than a few meters), in-situ analysis instruments to judge whether the boulder is our purpose, are required. In this presentation, current status of our sample selection plan with in-situ analyses are discussed.