Thu, Nov 9th 2023
An instrument from the University of Bern is going to the moon. In 2027, a mass spectrometer from Bern will be used for the chemical analysis of moon rocks, the university announced on Thursday.
The so-called mass spectrometer called LIMS (Laser Ablation Ionization Mass Spectrometer) is flying to Earth’s satellite as part of a project by the American space agency Nasa.
Landing in the south polar region of the moon will enable LIMS to carry out stationary measurements on site. According to the researchers, this region is particularly interesting because certain elements occur there whose isotopes make it possible to determine the age of the material.
The university was already involved in NASA’s Apollo moon mission in the 1960s with a solar wind sail. When Buzz Aldrin became the second man to step out of the lunar module on July 21, 1969, he was the first to unfurl the Bernese solar wind sail and insert it into the lunar soil, according to the university.
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