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When there are only ten days left before the departure of the first NASA SLS space rocket for the Artemis I mission (launch scheduled for August 29 at 2.33 pm, Italian time), the space agency has announced in these hours the possible sites for themoon landing from Artemis III. The third mission will be the first to get you back on the moon to a man (and first woman) after the Apollo missions. A joint scientific and engineering effort of many nations, a new step for the human being.
While the first mission will serve to test the new launch systems and procedures capable of making the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule reach our natural satellite, without a human crew, the second will have a human crew but will not land. Precisely for this we will have to wait the third mission that between 2025 and the 2026 (dates however subject to change) will actually allow the descent to the surface. With the announcement of the candidate sites for landingtherefore, a new leap forward is made in the definition of the strategy.
Artemis III and the candidate sites for the landing
In press release of the NASA the different ones have been spread sites candidates on the surface of the moon. This is a first “skimming” which allow to have areas with different characteristics, all interesting from a scientific point of view (but also safe for the crew). In fact, it must be remembered that for this mission the SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander (in a modified version compared to the one used for missions in LEO or GEO).
There are thirteen candidate sites for the lander landing, all near the lunar South Pole. However, within these sites there are several areas that can be chosen for landing, thus opening up a great range of possibilities. Below are the names given to the various sites that will potentially see astronauts walking on surface of the moon:
- Faustini Rim A
- Peak Near Shackleton
- Connecting Ridge
- Connecting Ridge Extension
- de Gerlache Rim 1
- de Gerlache Rim 2
- de Gerlache-Kocher Massif
- Haworth
- Malapert Massif
- Leibnitz Beta Plateau
- Noble Rim 1
- Noble Rim 2
- Amundsen Rim
Among the common features we find the fact that the sites are within 6 ° of latitude from Lunar South Pole. There is also a varied geological conformation. The actual choice will be made when there is a definitive date for the launch of Artemis III (also based on the consultation with the international scientific community). Obviously, the slope of the land was evaluated but also the ease of communication with the Earth and the lighting conditions.
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As already stated in the past, great interest is linked to the presence of ice in the permanently shaded areas (in the craters). These could be reached by astronauts after landing. Actually knowing how much water is present on moon it will be crucial for future missions that are sustainable (for example to create space rocket propellant on site). It will then be possible to improve the knowledge of the history of our satellite thanks to the presence of very ancient material which has had little or no interaction with the Sun’s radiation.landing of Artemis III however, they will have 6.5 days of sunlight available (expected duration of the mission).
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