Discovery_Direct from the Moon
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00:00The Moon, Earth's constant companion, yet still full of mystery, until now.
00:29This is our new window on the Moon, and this is the incredible new view in high definition.
00:39Kaguya, Japan's revolutionary lunar explorer, is bringing us closer to our lonely grey neighbor
00:47than ever before.
00:58Armed with an array of high-tech tools, Kaguya is uncovering startling new evidence and unlocking
01:04age-old secrets.
01:08That satellite has improved our understanding, our definition, just what the surface of the
01:15Moon really looks like, and it ought to stir the imagination in any human being.
01:24We'll look at how past explorations first introduced us to this alien realm, and discover
01:32how Kaguya and other technologies will bring us back, this time to stay.
01:40Images like we've never seen them, direct from the Moon.
01:54The surface of the Moon, a place of haunting beauty.
02:21Today, vivid high-definition images like these are being transmitted back to Earth
02:26from a sophisticated spacecraft called Kaguya, and with them, a whole new perspective on
02:33the Moon.
02:37The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency blasted the Kaguya satellite into space in
02:43September 2007.
02:49It's been orbiting 60 miles above the Moon's surface ever since.
02:54At three tons and 16 feet long, Kaguya is roughly the size of a large pickup truck,
03:00and boasts 14 sophisticated tools, including special cameras, spectrometers, a magnetometer,
03:08and a plasma imager.
03:10The Japanese Kaguya spacecraft is really providing spectacular data, unlike anything we've seen
03:18before.
03:19Measurements at depth that we have never had before.
03:24Incredible images like these may finally help us solve the mysteries of the Moon, and give
03:29us new insight into the origins and evolution of planet Earth.
03:36The Earth and Moon share a dramatic past.
03:39Scientists believe that 4.5 billion years ago, a rogue body as big as Mars smashed into
03:46our young planet, forever changing its destiny.
03:49They call this event the Giant Impact.
03:55The spectacular collision turns Earth into a blazing ball of molten rock, firing up our
04:01atmosphere to several thousand degrees Fahrenheit, and flings many trillions of tons of rocky
04:09debris into our orbit.
04:14This debris begins to collide and merge, and eventually, the Moon is born.
04:25The power of gravity has tethered it to Earth ever since, orbiting around 236,000 miles
04:32away.
04:40The Moon shines back at us each night with the same familiar face.
04:46In its glow, we may see a man in the Moon, or a rabbit.
04:58But what the Kaguya satellite sees is a new set of clues about the Moon's unique composition.
05:18This smooth, dark plane is called the Sea of Rays.
05:22The dark areas are craters filled with ancient lava flows, and is typical of the terrain
05:28facing the Earth.
05:30The patterns we know as the face of the Moon are actually a combination of numerous craters
05:36that were long ago filled with dark lava.
05:39This is the only side of the Moon we can see from Earth.
05:46The far side of the Moon, mistakenly referred to as the dark side, has a vastly different
05:52terrain.
05:54It gets the same amount of sunlight, but has more giant craters and hardly any trace of
05:59dark lava.
06:00The question is, why are the two sides so different?
06:05Dr. Noriyuki Namiki is studying this phenomenon by using Kaguya's unique scientific instruments.
06:15Numerous lunar probes have been launched to study the Moon's surface, so we know a lot
06:19about that.
06:20But in order to find out about the Moon's history, we need to go below the surface and
06:25look inside.
06:29He believes that the satellite's orbital path holds the key to understanding the Moon's
06:34internal structure.
06:37This is because the Moon's gravitational pull varies along the satellite's trajectory.
06:43By precisely measuring changes in the satellite's orbit, it's possible to map the gravitational
06:49fields.
06:52Kaguya uses an innovative satellite-to-subsatellite system to relay data when it's on the far
06:59side of the Moon.
07:04These red spots highlight areas on the near side of the Moon with a stronger-than-usual
07:08gravitational pull, indicating high-density mass under the surface.
07:15There is no such area on the far side of the Moon.
07:19Instead, these blue spots reveal areas where the gravitational force is weaker-than-usual,
07:25indicating low-density mass underneath.
07:28When the results of the first observation came out, we were elated.
07:35It was this feeling of, yes, we were right.
07:41We knew there was a difference in the surface of the far side and that of the near side.
07:45But the different patterns in the gravitational field indicate that the differences are not
07:50just superficial, they go deep.
07:56So what caused these big structural differences in the Moon's inner core?
08:03Dr. Kiyoshi Kuramoto believes the Earth holds the key.
08:14The Moon's orbital path was once much closer to the Earth than it is today, so much so
08:20that gravity pulled it into an egg shape.
08:23As the Moon's orbit moved farther away from the Earth, it assumed its spherical shape.
08:31But there were lasting effects.
08:33Earth's gravitational force is believed to have dragged softened rock to one side.
08:39And as a result, uranium and other radioactive substances became concentrated on the near
08:45side of the Moon.
08:47These superheated materials melted deeper rock, which erupted as heavy lava.
08:53And the Moon's near side gained its signature pattern of dark and light.
08:59Earth's attraction to the heavy lava keeps the near side of the Moon forever facing inward.
09:06When a large satellite is orbiting a planet, as with the Moon and Earth, there is a strong
09:11gravitational interaction.
09:13The Moon's gravitational pull affects the Earth and vice versa.
09:17In that sense, they have been inseparable.
09:19They wouldn't have existed as they do today without having each other.
09:29While Earth's gravity keeps the Moon in orbit, the Moon's gravity drives our ocean's tides
09:35and helps keep our climate stable and relatively mild.
09:40But our nearest neighbor is also a realm of secrets.
09:44Apollo astronauts were the first to probe this alien world.
09:48Today's technology will dare to go even further.
09:59Japan's Kaguya Satellite's mission is giving scientists new insights into the Moon.
10:12It also brings us back to places we haven't seen in nearly 40 years.
10:18Like this hallowed ground, the Sea of Tranquility, where man took his first steps on the Moon
10:25in July 1969.
10:29Apollo 11's mission, to perform a manned lunar landing and return safely to Earth.
10:49I think that we stood a 60% chance of successfully carrying out the Apollo 11 mission.
10:59Apollo 11, this is Houston.
11:03You are confirmed to go for orbit.
11:05Houston, roger.
11:12Roger, Eagle.
11:13Send dots.
11:14Roger.
11:15How does it look?
11:16Ready to land.
11:17Roger.
11:20Apollo 11 was a much more challenging landing than any of the later flights.
11:28Neil did not like where the computer was taking us.
11:34He heard the 60 seconds of fuel left at about 100 feet above the ground.
11:3960, 60 seconds.
11:41I was getting a little concerned, but I didn't want to disturb the guy next to me.
11:50Looks like a good area.
11:53Backlight.
11:54Okay, engine stop.
11:55Houston, Tranquility Base here.
11:56The Eagle has landed.
11:57We're going to the Eagle now.
11:58Eagle?
11:59Eagle.
12:00Eagle, roger.
12:01Roger.
12:02Eagle.
12:03Eagle.
12:04Eagle.
12:05Eagle.
12:06Eagle.
12:07Eagle.
12:08Eagle.
12:09Eagle.
12:10Eagle.
12:11Eagle.
12:12Eagle.
12:13Eagle.
12:14Eagle.
12:15Eagle.
12:16Eagle.
12:17Eagle.
12:18The Eagle has landed.
12:20Neil says we grabbed hands and I remember sort of patting him on the shoulder.
12:30Then we got into the preparations for going outside.
12:33Are you getting a TV picture now, Houston?
12:36Neil, yes, we are getting a TV picture.
12:39Okay, ready for me to come out?
12:42All set.
12:43I'm going to step off the LM now.
12:46That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
12:57When we got there, nothing could be more descriptive than the word desolation.
13:16Terrible view.
13:17Isn't that something?
13:18Magnificent sight out here.
13:19Magnificent desolation.
13:20When I was walking around on the surface and happened to gaze up, it caused me to realize
13:31that two people are further away from home than two people have ever been.
13:38The astronauts have only two and a half hours to explore this strange and daunting new world.
13:45There's no color.
13:46Just no color whatsoever.
13:47It's all just gray, shades of gray.
13:50The dust itself was just like talcum powder.
13:53What was amazing was the cohesiveness of the dust as the blueprints made an imprint.
14:02As you put your foot down and it all went out with no dust, no billowing.
14:08It doesn't do that here on Earth.
14:11Their heavy spacesuits protect them against intense radiation and minus 280 degree Fahrenheit
14:18temperatures.
14:19But the spacesuits make some of the simplest maneuvers difficult.
14:24Three, two, one.
14:35Looking good there.
14:41The Apollo 12 mission lands in the Ocean of Storms region in November 1969.
14:47This time, astronauts spend nearly eight hours on the moon exploring the landscape and collecting
14:54samples.
14:55Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me.
15:04In April 1970, Apollo 13 sets out to explore the Fra Mauro region of the moon.
15:16But an oxygen tank explosion cripples the spacecraft before it can land.
15:21The crew barely makes it back to Earth.
15:24A grim reminder of how dangerous lunar exploration can be.
15:30America alone seems to have conquered the moon.
15:34But a few months later, another world power crashes the party.
15:41The Soviet Union, America's space rival, manages to build, test, and launch a remote-controlled
15:48lunar rover called the Lunokhod in total secrecy.
15:59This unmanned craft explores the lunar surface in the Sea of Rains for 11 months.
16:05It transmits thousands of images of the moon's surface and completes some 500 scientific
16:11tests before dying a natural death.
16:18Its successor, Lunokhod 2, lands in the Sea of Serenity.
16:23It uses its new laser reflector to measure the distance to Earth with incredible accuracy
16:29and tries to predict volcanic activity and continental drift back home.
16:35The Lunokhod rovers are a huge success, but nothing matches the manned Apollo missions
16:41when it comes to exploring the moon's secrets.
16:44In December 1972, Apollo 17 soars into the valley of Taurus-Littrow.
16:55Here is that same view today from the Kaguya satellite's terrain camera.
17:00Crew member Dr. Harrison Jack Schmidt, the only geologist to visit the moon, chose the landing site.
17:08Well, what we were trying to do is get as broad a spectrum of samples in different ages
17:13as we possibly can from the different units.
17:16And that's what the valley of Taurus-Littrow offered us the opportunity to do.
17:38I grabbed the railings of the ladder and slid down.
17:41Remember, we're in one-sixth gravity, so you don't weigh as much.
17:46Your mass is the same, but you don't weigh as much, so things are a lot easier in that respect,
17:50even when encumbered by that pressure suit that we had to wear.
17:55The space suit is the primary constraint on efficiently conducting field science.
18:06I'm on my way.
18:09Can't do it. Can't get down it.
18:12That's why.
18:17Leave it.
18:22Damn it.
18:25The large problem is that dust gets all over radiator surfaces, solar cells, and things like that,
18:32and you keep having to brush it off.
18:34Remind me to dust my camera, too, will you?
18:37Don't forget to dust your camera.
18:39We did occasionally try to use duct tape outside.
18:41It was impossible to keep dust off the tape with your fingers and things like that.
18:45Good old-fashioned American.
18:47Green tape doesn't stick to lunar dust-covered fenders.
18:50Schmidt and Cernan set out in the lunar rover to collect samples of rock and regolith, or moon dust.
18:57And Jack Schmidt is approaching a crater where he sees a flash of color in the sea of gray.
19:03I was looking down at the surface, and I detected an orange hue to the debris that was covering the rim of the crater.
19:12And I had been fooled once by a reflection, an orange reflection off the lunar rover,
19:17and so I was very cautious initially about what it might be.
19:21And as I dug down, I immediately penetrated into this bright orange material.
19:27The orange soil, as it came to be known, had scientists intrigued.
19:32But its true significance would remain a secret for decades to come.
19:39And then it was time to leave.
19:52This is Gene, and I'm on the surface.
19:56And as I take my last step from the surface, as we leave the moon and towards Littoral,
20:05we leave as we came, and God willing, as we shall return.
20:12Those words were spoken on December 14, 1972.
20:17No humans have set foot on the moon since.
20:361972 marks the end of manned moon exploration.
20:41The Apollo program says its last goodbye to the lunar surface.
20:46Focus turns to the geological samples the astronauts collected.
20:50We brought back, surprisingly, nearly half a ton of moon rocks.
20:57And over the six successful Apollo missions, we have a lot of lunar rocks and soil from six small areas on the moon.
21:08One of the most unexpected finds is a pocket of orange soil amidst the moon's otherwise gray landscape.
21:16It contains the finest particles of any moon sample.
21:20Almost 40 years later, the significance of this orange soil remains a mystery.
21:26The spacecraft's powerful camera scans the entire lunar surface and finally finds what they're looking for.
21:34Forty more pockets of orange soil deposits.
21:37But what is this rare substance?
21:40Dr. Alberto Saul is trying to answer that question.
21:44He obtains orange soil samples from the Apollo 17 mission,
21:49then uses a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer to analyze its composition in incredible new detail.
21:56He determines that the soil has a strange chemical composition,
22:02but the spectrometer also finds a surprise.
22:05Water.
22:07We didn't expect to see it, given that for 40 years people tried to measure and they said there was no water.
22:14That water was not completely lost on the material that will form the proto-lunar disk that surrounded the Earth
22:23after the impact that aggregated to form the moon.
22:28Scientists believe that the giant impact vaporizes Earth's water, wrapping it in a warm mist.
22:36Temperatures cool, the vapor on Earth becomes water again.
22:43Because the moon's gravity is so much weaker than Earth's,
22:48almost all of its water vapor vanishes into space.
22:54But some is preserved for billions of years, locked inside tiny fragments of volcanic rock.
23:04The mystery of the orange soil has finally been solved.
23:12Japan's Kaguya is bringing moon exploration to a whole new level,
23:17allowing scientists to study the moon's terrain like never before.
23:22Take a look at the difference.
23:24This is a picture of the moon's surface taken by an American lunar explorer in 1994.
23:31This is Kaguya's version.
23:34The previous images could only reveal craters around 1,500 feet in diameter.
23:40Kaguya can identify pits as small as 30 feet and render them in stunning 3D.
23:53Kaguya, Japan
24:07The orbiter's terrain camera has two lenses, one looking forward, the other looking back.
24:13They film the same location from two slightly different angles.
24:18Combined, they bring the moon to life.
24:21Kaguya is giving us breathtaking new views of an uncharted lunar scape
24:27and allowing virtual exploration into the moon's most dramatic features.
24:39Like the crater Tycho, whose signature streaks can be seen from Earth.
24:52As this actual satellite imagery reveals, the crater is 52 miles in diameter,
24:58with cliff faces higher than those of the Grand Canyon.
25:07Studying its unique features gives us new insight
25:11into how major impacts like this one have shaped the Earth.
25:16The prominent rim gives way to a series of terraces,
25:20a common feature of the moon's larger craters.
25:28Dozens of boulders pepper the terraces.
25:31On this enormous scale, they may look like grains of sand,
25:35but some of them are as large as buildings.
25:47The terraces slope to the floor of the crater,
25:51a vast plain of rock and dust scarred with deep cracks.
25:59In the center of the crater, a central peak soars to a height of 8,000 feet,
26:05more than six times higher than the Empire State Building.
26:10Kaguya's incredible cameras have captured
26:14the most detailed terrain images of the Tycho crater ever.
26:29These images allow scientists to create a theory about the crater's formation.
26:36One hundred million years ago,
26:39a large celestial body strikes the moon's surface,
26:43the equivalent of detonating millions of nuclear bombs.
26:52A massive shockwave sweeps across the moon's surface at blazing speed.
27:05And blasts away 20 trillion tons of pulverized rock and dust.
27:11Debris soars as far as 1,250 miles away.
27:16This creates Tycho's unique starburst pattern.
27:20The meteor's initial impact creates a huge basin over two and a half miles deep.
27:27Then, the lunar surface begins to rebound from the force of the collision.
27:37Land near the rim slumps into terraces.
27:44The floor of the crater continues to rise
27:47until the bedrock pierces the surface and the ground.
27:51The floor of the crater continues to rise
27:54until the bedrock pierces the surface, creating the central peak.
28:10Lunar crater analysis gives scientists a better perspective
28:14on one of Earth's hidden battle scars.
28:17Hidden under Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula
28:20is the Chicxulub crater.
28:23112 miles across, it's twice the size of the Tycho crater,
28:28but shares the same shape and distinctive central peak.
28:32Scientists believe it's the impact site of a six-mile-long asteroid
28:39that smashed into Earth 65 million years ago.
28:50Researchers estimate that this colossal impact
28:53dislodges trillions of tons of rock and debris.
29:01Massive clouds of tiny dust particles billow up into the atmosphere
29:06where they block out the sunlight.
29:09A significant cooling of the Earth follows
29:12and may have led to the dinosaur's extinction.
29:21The more clues Kaguya's cameras uncover on the surface of the Moon,
29:26the more we learn about our own planet and its dramatic past.
29:31Groundbreaking discoveries out here
29:34may even hold the secrets to life on Earth.
29:50NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
29:53California Institute of Technology
29:57NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
30:00California Institute of Technology
30:18The face of the Moon has long fascinated us
30:21with its alien pits and pockmarks.
30:27And with almost no atmosphere or water to alter their appearance,
30:32craters retain their original form for billions of years.
30:38Now Japan's Kaguya orbiter is finding new clues in this ancient landscape,
30:44clues that could change everything we know about the origins of life on Earth.
30:52It's now possible to study the number of craters in detail,
30:56providing us with information on when small celestial bodies hit the Moon,
31:00as well as their mass and quantity.
31:03Kaguya has helped us significantly boost such information.
31:11Scientists determine the age of a crater by analyzing its state of degradation
31:16compared with others around it.
31:18They then measure its width and depth.
31:21Charting the size and age of the craters reveals an interesting pattern.
31:28A spike in Moon impacts around 3.8 to 4 billion years ago.
31:34But what caused this sudden peak?
31:38Scientists once believed that comets crashing in from the outer solar system
31:43made most of the Moon's craters.
31:46But that wouldn't explain the spike in activity 4 billion years ago.
31:53Dr. Fumi Yoshida thinks she's found the real culprits, asteroids.
32:02Most of these small planetary bodies orbit in a belt between Mars and Jupiter,
32:07and they've been there since the Moon was formed.
32:10Dr. Yoshida uses a highly advanced telescope
32:14to measure more than a thousand of these asteroids.
32:18Then she compares them against the lunar craters formed 3.8 to 4 billion years ago.
32:24To her astonishment, the sizes match almost perfectly.
32:31The size distribution of craters is like a fingerprint,
32:35and so is the size distribution of asteroids.
32:38Since the fingerprints matched,
32:40it's believed that numerous asteroids collided with the Moon
32:43some 3.8 billion to 4 billion years ago.
32:51But why the sudden spike in activity?
32:564 billion years ago, Jupiter's orbit shifts slightly.
33:01This unleashes thousands of asteroids from the belt
33:04and sends them hurtling toward the Moon.
33:11And the Earth.
33:15But with much different results,
33:20Dr. Takeshi Kakegawa sets up an experiment
33:23to simulate what might have happened when asteroids hit this planet.
33:30Asteroids are largely composed of iron,
33:33so Kakegawa's team mixes that element with carbon, water, and nitrogen,
33:38very common substances on Earth 4 billion years ago.
33:42They're sealed together in a container.
33:45Next, Kakegawa simulates the massive impact of an asteroid strike on Earth
33:52by firing a container at almost 2,000 miles an hour.
34:005, 4, 3, 2, 1.
34:09The projectile unleashes a massive burst of energy on the chemicals inside.
34:17Dr. Kakegawa analyzes the chemicals and makes an amazing discovery.
34:22In addition to the original iron and nitrogen,
34:25a mysterious new substance forms.
34:28The team discovers that this material is an amino acid,
34:32one of the building blocks of life.
34:36This astounding revelation may finally explain
34:39one of the greatest mysteries facing science,
34:42the origins of life on this planet.
34:47The Earth had all the necessary materials for the creation of life,
34:51such as carbon and nitrogen.
34:53But how were they combined?
34:55That was a question that puzzled us.
34:57But now we've come to believe that fragments from asteroids bursting on impact
35:01provided the massive energy necessary to merge the substances.
35:05Dr. Kakegawa comes up with a scenario for the evolution of life on Earth.
35:11Four billion years ago,
35:13oceans rich in carbon and nitrogen cover most of the planet.
35:19When the asteroid storm strikes,
35:22the impact energy melts the iron
35:25and sparks a strong chemical reaction with the carbon and nitrogen.
35:29And suddenly, amino acids are born,
35:32the key ingredient for life on Earth in all its evolving forms.
35:37The ancient moon has no such oceans,
35:40so while the crashing asteroids dramatically shape the lunar landscape,
35:45they can never generate the spark of life.
35:57The discovery of life on the moon
35:59is the first step in the evolution of life on Earth.
36:04The Moon
36:17Indeed, this barren place hardly seems hospitable to human living conditions.
36:22But that's all changing.
36:24After 40 years, man is going back to the moon.
36:29This time, to stay.
36:34The Uncertainty of Life on the Moon
36:57Forty years ago,
36:59the Apollo astronauts first set foot on this lonely gray world.
37:03♪ I was rolling on the moon one day ♪
37:07♪ In a merry, merry month of May ♪
37:10Now, NASA is preparing to go back,
37:14this time to stay.
37:15The launch is slated for the year 2020,
37:21and engineers and scientists are hard at work
37:25trying to turn this vision of exploration into reality.
37:30But how will we get there?
37:33Where will we live?
37:37How will we get around?
37:41What will it take to stay there permanently?
37:44♪
37:52It's a dangerous mission,
37:54but the rewards promise to outweigh the risks.
37:57There's a couple of reasons to go back to the moon.
38:04One is to learn how to live and work again
38:07on the surface of another world
38:09and to be able to do it for longer
38:11than just the couple of days that we did in Apollo.
38:13And that is using the moon as a place
38:17to test out our equipment, our techniques,
38:21all our systems before we try to explore deeper
38:23in the solar system.
38:25♪
38:28The area that we're basically responsible for
38:31are the habitats, the living spaces for the crews
38:34on a return to the moon.
38:37You do have to take everything
38:39that you take for granted here on Earth.
38:41You have to take your breathable atmosphere,
38:45your water system.
38:47You have to bring your power system.
38:51Unlike in a zero-gravity environment
38:53where everyone is weightless,
38:55on the moon we'll actually have a resulting floor area
39:00that is going to come into play.
39:02But choosing the right outpost design
39:04in this wasteland is a big challenge.
39:07Any structure that goes up needs to protect its inhabitants
39:10from radiation and extreme temperatures
39:14and must be strong enough to withstand the pelting
39:17of micrometeoroids that constantly rain down
39:20on the moon's surface.
39:22And the question of where to set up this habitat
39:25still remains.
39:29One of the candidate sites at present is Shackleton Crater.
39:33On the south pole of the moon,
39:35you get a great deal of sunlight a majority of the time.
39:38So solar power is a very feasible solution to that.
39:42So the location makes a big difference.
39:52But wherever they go, they'll have to find a way
39:54to work around the harmful lunar dust,
39:57which became evident during the Apollo missions.
40:03Oh, that's coming.
40:07The scientific name for this dust and soil on the moon
40:11is regolith, but what you can think of it
40:14is very, very finely divided rock and glass particles.
40:20Look, look at that.
40:22So tiny, it's kind of like talcum powder,
40:24but really hard and sharp.
40:26Formed by hundreds of millions of years of impacts
40:32from tiny, pinhead-sized micrometeorites.
40:36Can you see that, Houston?
40:41Breathing it in can make astronauts sick,
40:44and the long-term effects are unknown.
40:46Well, as soon as you take your helmet off,
40:48after you've been outside, in the lunar module,
40:52you will, there'll be dust moving around the cabin,
40:56the air circulating, and so you'll breathe it there.
40:59It smells like gunpowder, spent gunpowder.
41:02I had a little bit of a reaction to it
41:05in what's called the turbinates.
41:07They were swollen, it's like pollen.
41:10But that went away over the period we were on the moon
41:14until I hardly noticed it.
41:19NASA scientists have made it a priority
41:22to keep the lunar dust out of the habitat and work areas.
41:26Almost all of it has enough iron in it
41:29that it can be attracted to a magnet,
41:32and people have advocated literally lining the doors
41:35and parts of the cabin with magnets
41:38to clear dust out of the air.
41:40We also know how to use filters.
41:43And then we may well end up building spacesuits
41:47that don't come into our living space.
41:55This time around, the suits will be easier to get into,
41:59more flexible, and better to work in for long periods of time.
42:03Everything is integrated, as opposed to the Apollo suit,
42:07where you had to add all your elements onto the suit
42:10prior to going to EVA.
42:12You would have this together, gloves would be on,
42:15you'd have your helmet, extra vehicle visor,
42:18your life support system would be part of the rear hatch.
42:21And essentially, all you have to do would be
42:24to open up the hatch, don the suit,
42:27and in the reduced-gravity environment,
42:30the astronaut would basically grab the torso,
42:33raise himself up, and lower himself into the torso.
42:37Scientists are also coming up with ingenious ways
42:40of harvesting vital resources from the moon itself,
42:44so that astronauts can live off the land.
42:47About 45 to 50% of the mass of the moon is actually oxygen,
42:51in one form or another, attached to silicon or metals.
42:55So there's an abundant amount.
42:58The trick is looking at the different minerals
43:01and coming up with a way of harvesting them.
43:04And so we have designed a plant
43:07that will operate and make about
43:101,000 to 2,000 kilograms of oxygen per day.
43:13This seems to be about the right size
43:16to handle a crew of 4, such that we don't have to bring
43:20any oxygen or water from the Earth
43:23once they stay there for a period of time.
43:26So we have designed a plant that will operate
43:29and make about 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms of oxygen per day.
43:32Once they stay there for periods of times
43:35greater than, say, 30 days.
43:38Basically, you take the bulk regolith, or lunar material,
43:41you heat it up to about 900 degrees centigrade
43:44in the presence of hydrogen.
43:47The hydrogen reacts with any iron oxide
43:50and it produces a water vapor.
43:53We would then electrolyze or break that water
43:56up into oxygen and hydrogen.
43:59And that oxygen would be recycled back
44:02to process more regolith.
44:05Future missions will see astronauts
44:08exploring the Moon's surface farther than ever before.
44:11Designs for a new generation of lunar vehicles
44:14are already underway.
44:17We're looking at a number of different scales of machines
44:20with different capabilities.
44:23Machines that can reach up onto a lander
44:26and lift them down to the surface
44:29and then deploy them maybe as far as a kilometer or two
44:32from the lander. Those are big machines.
44:35We're also looking at some medium-scale machines
44:38that can move astronauts, either with them having to wear
44:41their spacesuits in something we call an unpressurized rover
44:44or being able to climb inside a cabin
44:47where they can just put on normal clothes
44:50and drive across the surface in a small pressurized rover.
44:53The Apollo rovers were only designed for three days
44:56so that's a new challenge for us.
45:02We bent that curve of human evolution with Apollo
45:05so that now we are really creatures
45:08of the solar system, not just of the Earth.
45:11Life on the Moon is no longer
45:14the stuff of science fiction.
45:17And thanks to the Japanese Kaguya orbiter,
45:20the closest neighbor is no longer a stranger.
45:23Why is it important?
45:26I believe that learning more
45:29about your world is always important
45:32and in this century,
45:35this time in human history,
45:38our world is not just the Earth.
45:41Our world is now expanding
45:44for the first time ever
45:47across the solar system and out into the universe
45:50and the Moon is that first step.