AFTERTHEFINALAPOLLOlandingin
1972,NASAlostinterestinthemoon.
Therewerespacestationstoassem-
ble,exoticplanetstoexplore,andonly
somuchfundingtogoaround.Then,
in2004,PresidentGeorgeW.Bushan-
nouncedtheConstellationProgram.
Therewouldbepowerfulnewrockets,
redesignedcrewcapsulesandroomier
lunarmodules– “Apolloonsteroids”,
asoneNASAadministratorputit.Part
oftheplanwastoestablisha perma-
nent“foothold”onthemoon,which
meanta renewedfocusonthelogis-
ticsofregularlandingsandlong-term
settlement.
ThiswassomethingthatPhilip
Metzger, a planetary scientist,
hadbeeninterestedinforawhile.
Metzger was theco-founder of
SwampWorks,atechincubatorat
NASA’sKennedySpaceCenterthat
createspracticalsolutionstothe
challengesofworkingandliving
inplacesbeyondEarth.He’ddone
researchonhowtopreventrocket
exhaustfromstirringupdustand
damaginglunarinfrastructure,and
hadscoureddecades’worthofstud-
iesonrockandsoilsamplesbrought
backbytheApolloastronauts.He
evenhadfourrarevialsofgenuine
moondustinhislaboratory.Overthe
years,he’dperfecteda quicklessonin
lunargeolog yforhisteam.
Itwentsomethinglikethis.The
regolith,a blanketofrockymaterial
ontopoftheprimordiallunarbed-
rock,containsmixed-up dust, gravel
andpebbles.Itisthoughttobeabout
4.5metresthickintheplainsand
ninemetresthickinthehighlands.
Themoonisconstantlybombard-
edbycosmicraysandsolarwind,
whichmeansthedustcanbecome
electrostaticallycharged,likea bal-
loonrubbedonhair.It alsoreceivesa
steadyhailofmicrometeoroids.
Whenthemicrometeoroidshit,
theycreateminiatureshockwaves
inthesoil,causingsomeofittomelt
andformingtinypiecesofglass.
Thesepiecesare,Metzgersays,“jag-
ged,sharpandveryfrictional”.Un-
likeonEarth,wherewindandwater
wouldsmooththemout,theyremain
thiswayforever.WhenAldrinand
ArmstrongplantedanAmericanf lag
neartheirlandingsite,theystruggled
toworkthepoleintotheregolith,
stymiedbyitshighglasscontent.“It
tookbothofustosetit up,andit was
almosta publicrelationsdisaster,”
Aldrinrecalledyearslater.Thanks
totheconstanthammeringbymicro-
meteoroids,thesoilisextraordinarily
fine,whichmakesit sticky.
ForallofMetzger’smoondust
expertise,therewasoneenigma
thatkeptstumpinghim.Sittingin
hislaboratoryattheKennedySpace
Centerwerea fewpiecesofanold
spacecraftcalledSurveyor 3. Be-
tween 1966 and1968,fiveSurveyor
probeshadsetdownonthemoon,
providinghardproofthattherego-
lithwasfirmenoughtolandonand
allaying fears that the astronauts
116 March 2020
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