WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.797 [music throughout] 2 00:00:05.797 --> 00:00:10.385 [Kelsey Young] Watching Apollo footage of astronauts doing geology on the surface of the Moon 3 00:00:10.385 --> 00:00:14.180 is a really great way to think about preparing for Artemis 4 00:00:14.180 --> 00:00:18.268 for putting people on the Lunar surface once again. 5 00:00:18.268 --> 00:00:21.813 We learn a lot in how they did science operations on the Moon 6 00:00:21.813 --> 00:00:23.189 and what it's like to work on the Moon. 7 00:00:23.189 --> 00:00:28.236 You see them doing geology, you see them taking rock samples, putting in a drive tube 8 00:00:28.236 --> 00:00:31.781 to take a core sample. You see them bouncing along the surface of the Moon 9 00:00:31.781 --> 00:00:35.326 on the Lunar rover that they used in Apollo 15 through 17. 10 00:00:35.326 --> 00:00:39.122 So it's a great way to help drive technology development 11 00:00:39.122 --> 00:00:42.292 for the next generation of spacesuits and geology sampling tools. 12 00:00:42.333 --> 00:00:47.714 [Trevor Graff] There's these facilities that help us train like we are on the Lunar surface. 13 00:00:47.714 --> 00:00:51.801 You know these one-sixth G offload systems or 14 00:00:51.801 --> 00:00:54.763 putting people in the aquatic environment are great ways to 15 00:00:54.763 --> 00:00:58.558 train the mobility part, right, like what can you do and how 16 00:00:58.558 --> 00:01:02.062 different does it feel to be in one-sixth G and do these tasks. 17 00:01:02.062 --> 00:01:06.316 [Young] We've been training astronauts in geology and geoscience for decades now. 18 00:01:06.316 --> 00:01:11.362 The Apollo astronauts had literally hundreds of hours of training in geology 19 00:01:11.362 --> 00:01:12.530 before they flew to the Moon. 20 00:01:12.530 --> 00:01:16.451 It's often said that the Apollo astronauts had the equivalent of a Master's degree 21 00:01:16.451 --> 00:01:18.953 in geology by the time they flew to the Moon. 22 00:01:18.953 --> 00:01:21.039 In the intervening decades since Apollo, 23 00:01:21.039 --> 00:01:24.375 we've been training astronauts who fly to the International Space Station (ISS) 24 00:01:24.375 --> 00:01:28.004 because when they're on the ISS they spend to observing the Earth. 25 00:01:28.004 --> 00:01:31.841 Looking out the window, taking pictures of what they see on the Earth's surface. 26 00:01:31.841 --> 00:01:35.095 Now that we're looking at putting astronauts on the surface of the Moon, 27 00:01:35.095 --> 00:01:38.473 we also take them into the field. We take them to 28 00:01:38.473 --> 00:01:43.311 field sites here on Earth that resemble field sites that we expect them to see on the Moon. 29 00:01:43.311 --> 00:01:46.689 [Graff] That's the reason why we take them out into places that are unique 30 00:01:46.689 --> 00:01:51.236 like volcanic landscapes or places that are analagous to 31 00:01:51.236 --> 00:01:55.573 the Lunar surface to train them on the scale and fidelity of science 32 00:01:55.573 --> 00:01:57.826 that you just can't recreate in these facilities. 33 00:01:57.826 --> 00:02:01.037 [Young] And so by combining this classroom and field training, 34 00:02:01.037 --> 00:02:06.042 we're able to prep them for fundamentals of geology, the major driving Lunar science questions 35 00:02:06.042 --> 00:02:08.878 that we have that we hope to address with the Artemis Program, 36 00:02:08.878 --> 00:02:12.799 and teaching them how to do field work in relevant, analogue environments. 37 00:02:12.799 --> 00:02:16.636 [Graff] For just science aspects of developing new spacesuits, 38 00:02:16.636 --> 00:02:19.430 can it get you to where you need to go. 39 00:02:19.430 --> 00:02:24.477 And once you get there, can you do the cool science that you need to do. 40 00:02:24.477 --> 00:02:29.691 And so that's: can you move effectively and efficiently in the suit to be able to collect the samples 41 00:02:29.691 --> 00:02:32.777 or use the tools or the instruments. 42 00:02:32.777 --> 00:02:37.198 For the visibility, it's like: can you make the necessary observations that you need to 43 00:02:37.198 --> 00:02:42.036 or, does the suit have the lights on it that it needs to illuminate the surface 44 00:02:42.036 --> 00:02:44.664 and make the observations that you need to. 45 00:02:45.707 --> 00:02:49.252 The Lunar South Pole holds tremendous resources that are 46 00:02:49.252 --> 00:02:51.796 going to allow us to continue to explore. 47 00:02:51.796 --> 00:02:54.340 This is a place that we've never been before. 48 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:57.218 There's so much to be learned from getting boots on the ground 49 00:02:57.218 --> 00:03:01.431 and exploring a unique place that challenges us as humans 50 00:03:01.431 --> 00:03:07.228 and also helps us develop technologies that make our everyday life that much better. 51 00:03:07.228 --> 00:03:10.607 [Young] We think there might be volatiles present at the South Pole. 52 00:03:10.607 --> 00:03:14.611 By using these volatiles, we'll be able to do thinks like: create drinking water, 53 00:03:14.611 --> 00:03:17.530 create rocket fuel to launch astronauts back to Earth 54 00:03:17.530 --> 00:03:21.284 and so by harnessing the power of the land, we'll be able to help astronauts 55 00:03:21.284 --> 00:03:24.245 establish that long-term sustainable presence. 56 00:03:24.245 --> 00:03:27.123 [music intensifies] 57 00:03:32.629 --> 00:03:34.714 It's human nature to explore 58 00:03:34.714 --> 00:03:37.508 Pushing our boundaries and exploring our universe is 59 00:03:37.508 --> 00:03:41.262 I think just one of those things that's just stuck in our human nature 60 00:03:41.262 --> 00:03:44.307 and we need to do it in order to understand the world around us 61 00:03:44.307 --> 00:03:47.310 including our Earth and our Solar System.