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As NASA is preparing for its first crewed Moon landing in more than five decades, the agency has narrowed down its landing regions for the Artemis III mission.
The mission hopes to mark humanity’s return to the lunar surface, with the launch being no earlier than September 2026.
Now, NASA is one step closer to the logistics as they focus on where the astronauts will land.
This was done by NASA’s Cross Agency Site Selection Analysis team who worked closely with science and industry partners to add and exclude potential landing regions while assessing the areas for their science value and mission availability.
The refined list includes: Peak near Caebus B, Haworth, Malapert Massif, Mons Mouton Plateau, Mons Mouton, Nobile Rim 1, Nobile Rim 2, de Gerlache Rim 2, and Slater Plain.
The regions have been chosen as they “contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability,” explained the agency in a press release.
“The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”
The lunar South Pole is a place that has never before been explored by a crewed mission and “contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.”
NASA’s Artemis III mission advances: What does it include?
Over the course of around 30 days, the astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend approximately a week near the South Pole of the Moon. It’s there that the crew members will conduct new science before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to earth.
“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon.
“They will be flying on a new lander into a terrain that is unique from our past Apollo experience,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist.
“Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing, and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”
Once the mission’s target launch dates have been identified, the agency will then select sites within regions for Artemis III.
Featured Image: Credit to NASA, via press release
