Astronauts who will return to the lunar surface, scheduled for 2026, as part of the Artemis program in North America, will take plants and an instrument to study the effects of radiation and partial lunar gravity on their growth.
This instrument was one of three instruments chosen by the US space agency NASA for the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for September 2026, through which the United States intends to return to the surface of the moon, with the first woman and the first black person. This came after the last landing of astronauts, all men, in 1972.
The chosen area for Artemis III to land on the moon's surface will be the South Pole, where there will be frozen water. Once installed in this area, the scientific instruments will collect data about the lunar environment and interior and how it would be possible to maintain a long-term human presence on the moon, allowing NASA to prepare to send astronauts to Mars.
One of the instruments, according to A NASA statementIt will be the first of its kind to monitor the process of photosynthesis, growth and responses of plants pressure Caused by lunar radiation and gravity.
According to the US Space Agency, data on plant growth and development, along with the environmental standards measured by the device, will help scientists understand the use of plants grown on the moon to feed humans and support life on its surface and on Mars.
A suite of seismometers will also be on board Artemis III to monitor the seismic environment at the Moon's south pole and characterize its geological structure, particularly the crust and mantle. A third instrument will measure the ability of lunar regolith (rocky debris) to propagate an electric field, a key parameter in the search for lunar volatiles, especially ice.
The astronauts are scheduled to return to lunar orbit in September 2025, as part of the Artemis 2 mission, the crew of which has already been selected: Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Reed Wiseman.
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