Titanium core stem tube designed for use with the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill (ALSD) to take long samples of lunar soil, fitted with its hollow carbide core stem drill bit. The core stem tube with drill bit measures 18.5″ long, with a diameter of approximately 1″. The core stem tube is hand-engraved with part numbers, "RS60010002-005, 073," and the bit is engraved, "169." The ALSD core stem tube is made of titanium alloy (A1-4V), and the bit is made of heat-treated 5150 steel with tungsten carbide cutting blades. The tube is also fitted with a threaded, slotted white plastic sleeve. In overall fine condition.
The Apollo Lunar Surface Drill was deployed on Apollo 15, 16, and 17, consisting of a battery-powered motor with specialized drill bits and modular core stems fitted together. The system was designed to extract columns of lunar regolith to return to Earth, and to create holes for the placement of two heat flow probes. These rigid but hollow core stem tubes allowed astronauts to drill up to ten feet into the lunar surface and extract soil samples; once removed, the tubes could be capped for their return to Earth for study.
