1 00:00:03,770 --> 00:00:07,140 In the desert of southern New Mexico lies Kilbourne Hole, a 2 00:00:07,140 --> 00:00:10,577 nearly two-mile long maar crater in the heart of the Potrillo 3 00:00:10,577 --> 00:00:14,882 volcanic field. This crater formed about twenty-four 4 00:00:14,882 --> 00:00:17,417 thousand years ago when underground magma came into 5 00:00:17,417 --> 00:00:20,621 contact with ground water, causing an explosion as the 6 00:00:20,621 --> 00:00:24,324 water turned to steam. The blast scattered ash and rocks from 7 00:00:24,324 --> 00:00:27,060 deep within the Earth and exposed many layers of crust, 8 00:00:27,060 --> 00:00:31,732 making Kilbourne Hole a great site for geological studies. 9 00:00:31,732 --> 00:00:34,968 Today, scientists from NASA Goddard, as a part of the RIS4E 10 00:00:34,968 --> 00:00:37,905 project from Stony Brook University, have come here to 11 00:00:37,905 --> 00:00:40,507 test hand-held instruments that could one day be used by 12 00:00:40,507 --> 00:00:46,546 astronauts exploring the Moon, Mars, or even an asteroid. 13 00:00:46,546 --> 00:00:49,716 One such device is an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, or 14 00:00:49,716 --> 00:00:53,020 XRF, which can determine the chemical composition of rocks. 15 00:00:53,020 --> 00:00:57,557 Another, known as LIBS, uses laser pulses to detect what 16 00:00:57,557 --> 00:01:00,360 elements are present in a sample. Both instruments provide 17 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,698 information for small and confined points on the surface. 18 00:01:04,698 --> 00:01:07,401 For a broader field of view, the team adds in the use of 19 00:01:07,401 --> 00:01:11,104 hyperspectral and thermal cameras. These instruments would 20 00:01:11,104 --> 00:01:14,508 help astronauts understand the geochemical context of the rocks 21 00:01:14,508 --> 00:01:17,477 at the site they are exploring, which would be beneficial in 22 00:01:17,477 --> 00:01:21,348 deciding what samples to bring back to Earth for further study. 23 00:01:21,348 --> 00:01:25,352 The team also set up LiDAR and GPS equipment to create 24 00:01:25,352 --> 00:01:28,655 three-dimensional maps of the terrain – useful information for 25 00:01:28,655 --> 00:01:31,959 any human or robotic explorer. Joining the Goddard Instrument 26 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,629 Field Team were members from Johnson Space Center and the 27 00:01:35,629 --> 00:01:39,099 University of Texas El Paso. And the list of attendees included 28 00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:42,369 some rather notable names as well. Current astronaut Butch 29 00:01:42,369 --> 00:01:45,439 Wilmore, who served as a commander of the International 30 00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:49,076 Space Station, played an active role by simulating astronaut 31 00:01:49,076 --> 00:01:51,979 EVAs, or extravehicular activities, while hiking the 32 00:01:51,979 --> 00:01:56,750 landscape with a geologist. It was their job to evaluate and 33 00:01:56,750 --> 00:02:00,520 choose spots for data collection with the instruments. Also 34 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,423 making the trip was retired Apollo 17 astronaut Jack 35 00:02:03,423 --> 00:02:06,994 Schmitt. As a geologist who eventually walked on the Moon, 36 00:02:06,994 --> 00:02:10,897 Jack came to this very location to train with other Apollo 37 00:02:10,897 --> 00:02:13,600 astronauts and learn how to explore and sample 38 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:15,302 diverse rock types. 39 00:02:15,302 --> 00:02:18,705 "Well Kilbourne was primarily a training site for understanding, 40 00:02:18,705 --> 00:02:21,508 for getting, particularly the pilot, the professional pilots 41 00:02:21,508 --> 00:02:25,579 to understand how diverse geological sampling can be. 42 00:02:25,579 --> 00:02:27,581 And Kilbourne certainly is diverse. 43 00:02:27,581 --> 00:02:31,551 And - also just to give them, get them thinking, 44 00:02:31,551 --> 00:02:35,022 about what does it mean to see a set of layered rocks. 45 00:02:35,022 --> 00:02:37,858 That that is actually a history of what was going on 46 00:02:37,858 --> 00:02:41,528 on the Earth at a particular time. All of that, I think, 47 00:02:41,528 --> 00:02:44,031 was very important for people who just never had been 48 00:02:44,031 --> 00:02:46,900 exposed to geological thinking.” 49 00:02:46,900 --> 00:02:49,536 On this excursion, Jack shared the lessons learned from 50 00:02:49,536 --> 00:02:53,073 his career, while also being shown some of the new techniques 51 00:02:53,073 --> 00:02:56,410 and technologies being tested by the current NASA scientists. 52 00:02:56,410 --> 00:02:59,946 Journalism students from Stony Brook University also came to 53 00:02:59,946 --> 00:03:02,983 Kilbourne Hole to shadow the scientists and learn about the 54 00:03:02,983 --> 00:03:07,387 fieldwork process. By working in this embedded capacity, this 55 00:03:07,387 --> 00:03:09,990 next generation of science journalists gained first-hand 56 00:03:09,990 --> 00:03:14,961 knowledge about scientific methods and equipment use. 57 00:03:14,961 --> 00:03:18,031 The overall goal of the field deployment to the Kilbourne Hole 58 00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:20,834 crater was to simulate what data collection might look like on 59 00:03:20,834 --> 00:03:24,004 another planetary body. The lessons that the Goddard 60 00:03:24,004 --> 00:03:27,007 Instrument Field Team and the RIS4E project learn here on 61 00:03:27,007 --> 00:03:29,342 Earth will help ensure that future astronauts are as 62 00:03:29,342 --> 00:03:31,845 efficient as possible when they are exploring 63 00:03:31,845 --> 00:03:34,347 those other worlds.