34 OCTOBER 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Drilling on the Moon Adapted from Information by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) More than 50 years ago, Apollo 15 took off from Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, embarking in a groundbreaking journey with Commander David R. Scott, Command Module Pilot Alfred M. Worden, and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin. This mission marked the beginning of three Apollo “J” missions, which allowed astronauts to conduct extended explorations of the moon using an enhanced array of scientific instruments. Apollo 15 was notable for being the first mission to employ the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) and the Lunar Roving Vehicle. During their nearly 67 hours on the lunar surface, Scott and Irwin landed and utilized the ALSD to set up various scientific instruments. This innovative rotary-percussive drill operated by combining a hammering action with a rotating drill bit to penetrate the lunar soil. The core samples collected were integral to NASA’s lunar geology research, providing insight into the moon’s composition and history by examining various rock types, including those from beneath the surface. NASA has returned to the moon as part of its Artemis missions, introducing a new drill designed for lunar exploration as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain (TRIDENT) will play a crucial role in identifying ice and other resources on the moon. “Honeybee Robotics designed the TRIDENT drill for NASA to sample lunar regolith,” said Amy Eichenbaum, the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) Deputy Project Manager. “TRIDENT will help [us] understand the physical properties of the lunar regolith (fragmental and unconsolidated rock material) while also allowing analysis of the resources present in samples taken from various depths.” Unlike its Apollo predecessor, TRIDENT is a rotary-percussive drill operating autonomously without the need for astronaut intervention. TRIDENT will be instrumental in PRIME-1, which will be the first demonstration of in situ resource utilization on the moon. This groundbreaking mission will involve robotic sampling and analysis for ice beneath the lunar surface, drilling approximately three feet deep at a site projected to contain water in either liquid or ice form. Each drill will yield samples for analysis using the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo). “MSolo will measure water ice and other volatiles released from the sample brought to the surface by the TRIDENT drill,” said Dr. Janine Captain, the Principal Investigator for MSolo. “These measurements will help us start to understand the distribution of resources on the lunar surface, a key to enabling a long-term presence on the moon.” Apollo 15’s landing site was near the Hadley Rille, a significant gorge in the moon’s topography located at the base of the Apennines Mountains. In contrast, PRIME-1 will target the moon’s south pole, an unexplored area far from previous Apollo landing sites, which has shown signs of water from space observations. To obtain precise data, PRIME-1 must land and drill into the surface, similar to the ALSD’s operations. The findings from PRIME-1 will refine resource models to pinpoint where future explorers are most likely to find water on the moon. Approximately one year after PRIME-1, NASA plans to deploy the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the lunar surface. This mission will mark NASA’s first mobile robotic exploration on the moon, equipped with a TRIDENT drill and scientific instruments to analyze water ice at various depths and temperatures. VIPER will conduct explorations at multiple locations in the lunar south pole for approximately 100 days. “The Apollo missions first introduced the concept of drilling to provide subsurface understanding of a foreign world,” said Dan Andrews, VIPER Project Manager. “PRIME-1 and VIPER will expand the state of the art as we look to a future of sustainable exploration and learning how to live off the land.” Commander Scott is leaning to his right putting down the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill used to take core samples to set up a heat flow experiment. Photo courtesy of Erik van Meijgaarden. TRIDENT performs testing at Honeybee Robotics within the TRIDENT Engineering Development Unit. Photo courtesy of Honeybee Robotics. ENV Dreaming about working on the Moon - or Venus? Keep reading WWDR, and you will be the first to know what’s coming in drilling. Oh! Remember, with PRINT, you won’t lose that “link” ~ It will be right where you left your PRINT copy. Go ahead and bend the page ~ it’s OK.
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