Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA)

Apollo astronaut Alan Bean holds a special environmental sample container filled with lunar soil.

Special samples returned during the Apollo Program have been stored under unique conditions and remain unexamined. These samples include core samples sealed on the lunar surface, frozen samples, and samples stored in Helium.  The Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis (ANGSA) initiative was designed to examine these pristine samples. Nine team with over 50 scientists and engineers will participate in this initiative. This initiative is essentially a new and inexpensive lunar sample return mission that offers new perspectives on lunar volatile reservoirs and processes shaping the Moon.  The results of this initiative will also provide a fundamental reference point for Artemis and  future lunar exploration.