Rake Ancient Lunar Regolith - “Earth’s Attic” - to Find Fragments of Hadean Rock from Earth
No rock survives from the Hadean - but that is because Earth has plate tectonics. Statistically, there must be Hadean rocks waiting on ancient Lunar terrains for us to find (just as there are abundant Lunar meteorites on Earth). A plausible Earth mineral has already been identified in Apollo samples (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X19300202). They will be easy to spot due to their distinct mineralogy (and color). However, raking through the Lunar regolith to find them is tedious work, beyond the patience of astronauts - but not beyond the patience of robots. This is a NASA science goal, but it is undervalued, due to the intense focus on Lunar resources.
Resources (2)
Picogram-Scale Interstellar Probes via Bioinspired Engineering
Research and Reviews
Rummaging through Earth's attic for remains of ancient life
Research and Reviews
R&D Gaps (1)
Nature’s blueprints span from the unseen nanoworld to the enigmatic origins of life. Despite the incredible diversity of nanostructures, many remain hidden due to current imaging limitations. Likewise, the mysteries of animal communication—crucial for decoding behavioral cues and social structures—await breakthrough insights. Moreover, the primordial conditions of our planet, essential for understanding life’s genesis, are obscured by the absence of rocks from before 4.1 Ga and fossils before 3.5 Ga (although life almost certainly established itself on our planet before that). Addressing these challenges can unlock new understandings in biology, ecology, and more.