Evaluation of lunar soil sampling disturbance based on penetration resistance method

IntroductionTo investigate the impact of surface sampling operations on the physical and mechanical properties of lunar soil—defined as the granular, sub-centimeter-sized fraction of the lunar regolith—and to mitigate design errors in sampling missions that arise from neglecting such disturbance, we conducted sampling disturbance experiments using the CUG-1A lunar soil simulant.MethodsThe degree of lunar soil disturbance was evaluated based on the change in penetration resistance of a standard p