WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:03.770 --> 00:00:07.140 In the desert of southern New Mexico lies Kilbourne Hole, a 2 00:00:07.140 --> 00:00:10.577 nearly two-mile long maar crater in the heart of the Potrillo 3 00:00:10.577 --> 00:00:14.882 volcanic field. This crater formed about twenty-four 4 00:00:14.882 --> 00:00:17.417 thousand years ago when underground magma came into 5 00:00:17.417 --> 00:00:20.621 contact with ground water, causing an explosion as the 6 00:00:20.621 --> 00:00:24.324 water turned to steam. The blast scattered ash and rocks from 7 00:00:24.324 --> 00:00:27.060 deep within the Earth and exposed many layers of crust, 8 00:00:27.060 --> 00:00:31.732 making Kilbourne Hole a great site for geological studies. 9 00:00:31.732 --> 00:00:34.968 Today, scientists from NASA Goddard, as a part of the RIS4E 10 00:00:34.968 --> 00:00:37.905 project from Stony Brook University, have come here to 11 00:00:37.905 --> 00:00:40.507 test hand-held instruments that could one day be used by 12 00:00:40.507 --> 00:00:46.546 astronauts exploring the Moon, Mars, or even an asteroid. 13 00:00:46.546 --> 00:00:49.716 One such device is an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, or 14 00:00:49.716 --> 00:00:53.020 XRF, which can determine the chemical composition of rocks. 15 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:57.557 Another, known as LIBS, uses laser pulses to detect what 16 00:00:57.557 --> 00:01:00.360 elements are present in a sample. Both instruments provide 17 00:01:00.360 --> 00:01:04.698 information for small and confined points on the surface. 18 00:01:04.698 --> 00:01:07.401 For a broader field of view, the team adds in the use of 19 00:01:07.401 --> 00:01:11.104 hyperspectral and thermal cameras. These instruments would 20 00:01:11.104 --> 00:01:14.508 help astronauts understand the geochemical context of the rocks 21 00:01:14.508 --> 00:01:17.477 at the site they are exploring, which would be beneficial in 22 00:01:17.477 --> 00:01:21.348 deciding what samples to bring back to Earth for further study. 23 00:01:21.348 --> 00:01:25.352 The team also set up LiDAR and GPS equipment to create 24 00:01:25.352 --> 00:01:28.655 three-dimensional maps of the terrain – useful information for 25 00:01:28.655 --> 00:01:31.959 any human or robotic explorer. Joining the Goddard Instrument 26 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:35.629 Field Team were members from Johnson Space Center and the 27 00:01:35.629 --> 00:01:39.099 University of Texas El Paso. And the list of attendees included 28 00:01:39.099 --> 00:01:42.369 some rather notable names as well. Current astronaut Butch 29 00:01:42.369 --> 00:01:45.439 Wilmore, who served as a commander of the International 30 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.076 Space Station, played an active role by simulating astronaut 31 00:01:49.076 --> 00:01:51.979 EVAs, or extravehicular activities, while hiking the 32 00:01:51.979 --> 00:01:56.750 landscape with a geologist. It was their job to evaluate and 33 00:01:56.750 --> 00:02:00.520 choose spots for data collection with the instruments. Also 34 00:02:00.520 --> 00:02:03.423 making the trip was retired Apollo 17 astronaut Jack 35 00:02:03.423 --> 00:02:06.994 Schmitt. As a geologist who eventually walked on the Moon, 36 00:02:06.994 --> 00:02:10.897 Jack came to this very location to train with other Apollo 37 00:02:10.897 --> 00:02:13.600 astronauts and learn how to explore and sample 38 00:02:13.600 --> 00:02:15.302 diverse rock types. 39 00:02:15.302 --> 00:02:18.705 "Well Kilbourne was primarily a training site for understanding, 40 00:02:18.705 --> 00:02:21.508 for getting, particularly the pilot, the professional pilots 41 00:02:21.508 --> 00:02:25.579 to understand how diverse geological sampling can be. 42 00:02:25.579 --> 00:02:27.581 And Kilbourne certainly is diverse. 43 00:02:27.581 --> 00:02:31.551 And - also just to give them, get them thinking, 44 00:02:31.551 --> 00:02:35.022 about what does it mean to see a set of layered rocks. 45 00:02:35.022 --> 00:02:37.858 That that is actually a history of what was going on 46 00:02:37.858 --> 00:02:41.528 on the Earth at a particular time. All of that, I think, 47 00:02:41.528 --> 00:02:44.031 was very important for people who just never had been 48 00:02:44.031 --> 00:02:46.900 exposed to geological thinking.” 49 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:49.536 On this excursion, Jack shared the lessons learned from 50 00:02:49.536 --> 00:02:53.073 his career, while also being shown some of the new techniques 51 00:02:53.073 --> 00:02:56.410 and technologies being tested by the current NASA scientists. 52 00:02:56.410 --> 00:02:59.946 Journalism students from Stony Brook University also came to 53 00:02:59.946 --> 00:03:02.983 Kilbourne Hole to shadow the scientists and learn about the 54 00:03:02.983 --> 00:03:07.387 fieldwork process. By working in this embedded capacity, this 55 00:03:07.387 --> 00:03:09.990 next generation of science journalists gained first-hand 56 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:14.961 knowledge about scientific methods and equipment use. 57 00:03:14.961 --> 00:03:18.031 The overall goal of the field deployment to the Kilbourne Hole 58 00:03:18.031 --> 00:03:20.834 crater was to simulate what data collection might look like on 59 00:03:20.834 --> 00:03:24.004 another planetary body. The lessons that the Goddard 60 00:03:24.004 --> 00:03:27.007 Instrument Field Team and the RIS4E project learn here on 61 00:03:27.007 --> 00:03:29.342 Earth will help ensure that future astronauts are as 62 00:03:29.342 --> 00:03:31.845 efficient as possible when they are exploring 63 00:03:31.845 --> 00:03:34.347 those other worlds.