Checklist for Requestors of Lunar Samples for Research

Requests for research samples from the NASA lunar sample collection are carefully reviewed before allocation decisions are made. However, neither the Lunar Sample Curator, nor the Curator's advisory committee, the Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM), has access to detailed research proposals that might have been submitted separately by the requestor to other parts of NASA or to other agencies. Therefore, to be successful, each lunar sample request must be as informative and self-contained as possible. Before submitting your sample request, be sure it contains all of the elements on the following checklist:

1. Cover letter signed by Principal Investigator (PI) who will be responsible for the loan of any lunar samples.
   1. Letter on PI's institutional letterhead.
   2. Letter co-signed (or separate letters provided) by every Co-Investigator (Co-I) who will participate in the investigation under terms of the security plan executed between NASA and the PI.
2. Description of the scientific goals and objectives of the proposed work.
   1. Scientific hypotheses to be tested or technical utilization to be demonstrated.
   2. Value of new analyses or tests relative to previous work on the same subject.
   3. Explanation of any time constraints (such as schedules for instrument time at complex facilities).
3. Specification of the samples requested for research.
   1. General types of samples: rocks, regolith (soil); regolith cores.
   2. Special requirements (for example, location, depth, orientation in parent sample).
   3. Specific lunar sample numbers (if known).
      1. Five-digit "parent" number (for example, 74001) plus 3-4-digit "daughter" number (for example, 6040) to give complete proper number (in this example, 74001,6040).
      2. Sample identifications based on information published by other PIs should identify the publications in which the sample numbers appear. (Published sample numbers sometimes include unofficial designations, given by individual PIs, that may differ from the official designations maintained by the Lunar Sample Curator. The Curator must be able to unambiguously identify the sample.)
   4. Mass or volume requested for each sample.
   5. Specification of whether returned (previously studied) lunar samples are acceptable.
4. Description of the analytical techniques to be applied.
   1. Specific identification of methods and facilities.
      1. Do not say "probe" analysis; specify electron-, ion-, proton-, or other microbeam method.
      2. Make clear the intended uses of the proposed methods (for example, elemental analyses by ICP-MS or SIMS vs. isotopic analyses by same techniques).
      3. Identify which Co-I and facility will perform each analysis.
   2. PI/Co-I team's previous experience with the proposed techniques, including reprints of peer-reviewed journal articles on lunar samples or a closely related subject.
   3. Sensitivity, accuracy, and precision that demonstrate feasibility for successful analysis of the requested samples.
5. Background of new proposing PI/Co-I team (first-time sample requestors only).
   1. Resume (curriculum vitae) of PI and each Co-I.
   2. Reprints of peer-reviewed journal articles that demonstrate experience applicable to lunar sample research.

A well-written sample request that is responsive to the checklist should be achievable in about 500-1000 words plus attachments (if applicable). Please refer any questions about lunar sample requests as follows:

Gary Lofgren
Lunar Sample Curator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Mail Code KT
2101 NASA Parkway
Houston, TX 77058-3696


Telephone: 281-483-3274
FAX: 281-483-5347
E-mail: gary.e.lofgren@.nasa.gov