The Exploration Science Summer Internship based at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, is a NASA-funded intensive programme aimed at hosting successful graduate students with backgrounds in geology, planetary science, astronomy and related topics.

Jennifer Sutherland, one of our InnovaXN PhD students, who is currently carrying out a 3-year research project on the characterisation of moon regolith simulants at ILL instrument D20 and co-supervised at the ESRF, was one of five selected for the 2022 instalment.

The internship offered Jennifer the opportunity to evaluate potential traverses astronauts may make in support of the next lunar landings (projected for 2025), a prelude to sending humans onwards to Mars. The group’s research entailed developing pathways from potential landing sites in response to challenging topography and illumination conditions at the lunar south pole, to meet both science and exploration objectives.

Steep impact-cratered terrain poses operational risks whilst giving purpose to extravehicular activities by carving out permanently shadowed regions that may play host to volatiles like water ice. These in situ resources could then be harvested for sustainable astronaut consumables, radiation shielding, and derived rocket propellant.

Pictured above: Jennifer at the Johnson Space Center and laboratory.

Jennifer told us, “The experience was of immense benefit to better contextualise my thesis – focused on the sintering of lunar regolith (simulants) for 3D printed applications – in terms of the anticipated minerology, surface processing and environmental conditions within the Artemis exploration zone.  A highlight in this respect was visiting the Apollo sample laboratory at JSC, which we aim to apply for to bring to Grenoble for beamtime use. I hope to continue the momentum from the intense experience of taking this team project from inception to delivery of a traverse atlas for mission planners into my final year.”

We wish Jennifer luck with more challenges and opportunities to come!

Learn more about Jennifer’s thesis on lunar regolith and the LPI Science Summer Program 2022.