Penetrometer, Apollo Simple, Lunar Surface

For the Apollo 14 mission a special instrument was provided that enabled the Lunar Module Pilot, Edgar Mitchell, to take rough measurements of the penetrability of the lunar surface. Referred to as the Apollo Simple Penetrometer (ASP), a shaft that would afterwards be used to anchor the cable that attached the geophone from the Active Seismic Experiment was provided a conical tip and calibrated along its length with black and white markings. At three different locations, Mitchell, after attaching the shaft to an extension handle, first pressed it into the surface with one hand and called out how far it penetrated. He then pushed harder with two hands and reported the results.

This object was used by the astronauts in training for the Apollo 14 mission. It was transferred from NASA to the Smithsonian in 1974.