All about Artemis
This week, NASA revealed potential landing sites for the Artemis 3 rover on the moon. This mission will be the first to transport humans to our natural satellite since the Apollo program and the first manned expedition to visit the lunar South Pole.
The sites were chosen by the US space agency taking into account the flexibility of the terrain, but also potential scientific discoveries, including water.
Artemis has 3 potential landing sites revealed on the Moon
NASA revealed that it has identified nine potential landing zones near the moon's south pole. The agency said in a statement that the sites “were evaluated in terms of their scientific value and availability for missions.”
Now these areas will be studied in more depth. NASA does not rule out finding potential new areas.
See what the Nine has been up to so far:
- Peak near Cabeus B;
- Haworth.
- Malabert Massif;
- Mons Mouton plateau;
- Mons Mouton;
- noble kidney 1;
- noble kidney 2;
- by Gerlach College 2;
- Plain Slater.
The areas have different geological characteristics, but they have one thing in common: their availability for expeditions.
The mission will investigate the Moon's south pole
Artemis 3 will return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program more than five decades ago. In addition, the mission will explore the lunar South Pole, an area that is still unknown to researchers and could contain important scientific discoveries, such as water.
Sarah Noble, lunar science lead at Artemis, explained the importance of this:
The Moon's south pole is a very different environment from where we landed during the Apollo missions. It provides access to some of the oldest terrain on the Moon, as well as cool, shaded areas that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing zones will allow us to make amazing science and make new discoveries.
Sarah Noble, lunar science lead for the Artemis mission
Read more:
How NASA determined landing zones
The nine potential landing sites were identified by a team of NASA scientists and engineers using data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite, as well as research on the topic.
The selection took into account the scientific potential of the areas, the mission's launch window, terrain, lighting conditions and the ability to communicate with Earth. The team also studied the ability of the Space Launch System, Orion and Starship aircraft to provide safe landings.
Among the potential scientific discoveries, the nine regions could provide important insights into our understanding of the Moon and its resources, the South Pole, and even the history of our solar system. The location will be chosen after determining the date of the mission and the paths leading to it, as well as the environmental conditions of the surface.
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