Washington 20th, August : The US space agency has identified 13 potential landing zones close to the south pole of the moon in preparation to launch astronauts back to the Moon under the Artemis program in 2024.Each region has multiple possible landing spots for Artemis III that is the initial of the Artemis missions to take crews on the moon’s surface, and will include the first woman ever to step foot on the surface of the Moon.
“Selecting the regions of these areas means that we are one step further from returning humankind to the Moon for the first time since Apollo,” said Mark Kirasich as deputy associate administrator of the Artemis Campaign Development Division.
“When we launch this, it will be unique to every mission that has gone before as astronauts explore dark , unexplored areas previously not explored by humans, and lay the foundation for future long-term stay,” Kirasich said in an announcement in the late hours of Friday.
Each of these regions is situated within 6 degrees of latitude of the south pole of the moon.They together, they contain a variety of geological features.
The landing sites for specific areas are tightly linked to the time of the launch window which is why different regions can be used to launch at any time of the year, according to NASA.
All regions that are considered to be scientifically significant due to of their close proximity to the south pole of the moon “which is an area that has permanently shadowed regions that are rich in minerals and in the unexplored terrain of humans”.
“Several of the proposed sites within the regions are in some of the oldest regions of the Moon and, together with the shadowed regions that are permanently shadowed give the chance to study the history of the Moon through previously unstudied lunar materials” stated Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science coordinator for NASA’s Planetary Science Division.
The analysis team considered landing requirements, including the desire to land in a shadowed area to allow the crew to perform moonwalks, while limiting disturbances upon landing.
This will allow crews to gather samples and conduct scientific analyses in an uncompromising area, providing important information on the extent, distribution and structure of water ice, which has been confirmed by the moon’s South Pole.
Each of the 13 regions has sites that offer uninterrupted sunlight access throughout an 6.5-day period – the scheduled length of the Artemis III surface mission.
The ability to get sunlight is essential for a prolonged stay at the Moon because it is the power source and minimizes temperature fluctuations.
Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.Moon.
In the meantime, NASA’s long-awaited Artemis 1 moon rocket will likely launch in the latter part of August.
NASA has chosen 3 dates for launch the mission: August 29, September 2 and September 5 for the uncrewed mission.
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