PS COLUMN ARCHIVE

June 24, 2009

What I recall on the 40th anniversary of human’s landing on the moon.

At 11:56am on July 21, 1969 (JST), forty years ago from today, the commander of Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong, took the first steps on the moon in human history. In Japan, too, the scene of landing on the moon was televised to have excited the viewers. It was reported that the number of the viewers all over the world counted as many as sixty millions plus.

I was one of sixty millions. I was quite a new reader at the university just about starting research on earth and planets. As my professor was asked from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) to explain about the Apollo’s landing in NHK’s TV program on the lunar landing, I was standing by at the corner of NHK studio by attentively watching Armstrong’s landing on the moon on a TV monitor. Since live broadcast from America was interrupted intermittently, professor was to generally explain about the moon between interrupted intervals. To the question from NHK announcer, “I think what makes it necessary for astronauts to live on the moon is drinking water, but is it possible to get water on the moon?” professor gave an answer prepared in advance, “Heating the rocks called “serpentine” produces water, so we can use the water by so doing.” Actually this was my idea suggested to the professor at the preparatory meeting with NHK, to which NHK requested to present the idea at the actual performance. Conducting the test was a part of reason professor and I were at NHK. The rock called “serpentine” contains water in the form of crystal water. My idea was to heat it up to 500 degrees to separate waters out of it. At that time NHK announcer and others were all impressed with the idea, but it became no avail in later years. Ironically enough, my idea was proved negative by careful examination of lunar rocks that Armstrong and Aldrin collected and brought back to the earth.

It was found out that all the rocks Apollo astronauts brought back to the earth were extremely dry to have contained almost no high volatility component. It could be safely said that there exists in moon today no such rock like serpentine of the earth. Many rocks on earth contain OH radical like clay minerals, while on moon it became clear that there exist almost no minerals that contain OH radical in lunar rocks.

From this example alone, scientific fruits achieved by Apollo extensively changed the views of scientists towards moon up to then. Ever since, I’ve been long looking forward to the day when Japan can send out to the world valuable scientific information in the fields of moon and planets. And now forty years later, my long awaited wish became true thanks to great accomplishments by KAGUYA. Now is the time when obtaining of the updated information is impossible without referring to KAGUYA. Maybe not so much like Apollo’s landing on moon, nevertheless, the videos taken by high-definition camera and images by terrain camera onboard KAGUYA have impressed and excited many people in the world. Even so, forty years is truly a long time. I may be getting too old to study the origin of the moon and its evolution from valuable data of KAGUYA. I would like to place my personal expectation on the young researchers for their continued efforts in future.

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