NASA will unveil potential future landing sites for human return to the lunar surface, and you can get a sneak peek today (Aug. 19) on Space.com or directly on the space agency’s website.
NASA is serious about human recovery the moon This decade and has already developed very comfortable landing pads Artemis 3 mission in 2025.
NASA said the agency will reveal the candidate landing sites at a briefing today (Aug. 19) at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Report (opens in new tab). NASA and its partners plan to land near the moon’s south pole, where water ice is believed to exist in permanently shadowed craters. The region also offers interesting opportunities for scientific exploration, including astronomical observations from the lunar surface.
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission: Live updates
“Each of the selected areas for which specific landing sites may be selected is of scientific interest and is evaluated based on terrain, communications and lighting conditions, and ability to meet scientific objectives,” NASA said in a statement. “NASA will engage with the broader science community in the coming months to discuss the specifics of each region.”
If successful, the landing is marked for the first time Apollo 17 By 1972, humans would have set foot on Earth’s celestial companion. The ambitious Artemis project aims not only to put the first woman and first man on the lunar surface, but also to establish a permanent human presence on the moon and in its orbit.
The first step of the Artemis program is scheduled to take place later this month with an unmanned test flight NASA’s Space Launch System rocketIt will lift a blank The Orion crew capsule A round trip to the moon and back to test various important technologies. If successful, the task is called Artemis 1It will pave the way for the first human lunar orbit in 2024 and a landing in 2025.
NASA has already been selected SpaceX to develop landing system As part of the Artemis 3 mission to take astronauts from lunar orbit to the lunar surface.
Later in the decade, NASA and its partners (the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) plan to establish a permanent space station orbiting the Moon. entranceAnd finally A Foundation on the surface of the Moon.
In the future, assignments tuesday These missiles could be launched from the Moon instead of Earth to reduce cost and technical complexity.
Follow Teresa Bulderova on Twitter @Teresa Bulderova. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom And on Facebook.
