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NASA outlined science priorities for Artemis III astronauts on the Moon
WASHINGTON – The US space agency NASA on Monday released a voluminous report outlining the science priorities for the Artemis III astronauts it intends to send to the Moon in 2024.
One of the goals will be to recover a total of 85 kilograms (187 pounds) of lunar samples, both from the surface and underground, more than the average of 64 kilograms brought by members of the Apollo mission between 1969 and 1972.
“The Moon has great scientific potential, and astronauts will help us enable that science,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
“This report helps to outline a path to compelling science that we can now contemplate doing on the lunar surface alongside human explorers,” Zurbuchen said.
The Artemis I mission, scheduled for before the end of 2021, will involve a test of the Space Launch System and an unmanned Orion spacecraft.
Artemis II will see a crewed test flight sent into orbit in 2023, but it will not involve an actual landing on the Moon.
Artemis III will send astronauts, including the first woman, to the Moon in 2024.
In the 188-page report, NASA set seven science goals for the Artemis III mission, including understanding planetary processes.
Astronauts will only have a maximum of six and a half days on the Moon and the report provides a resource for mission planners who will carry out their activities on the surface.
Among the experts’ recommendations is the establishment of a real-time data and video link to a scientific support team on the ground that can support the astronauts.
They also suggested the development of lighter scientific instruments that are capable of performing more than one investigation or measurement.
In addition, they said that NASA should consider placing science assets in the vicinity of the Artemis III landing site in advance.
“This could consist of an inert cache of tools / instruments that the crew will be able to access upon arrival, and / or one or more landers or instrumented rovers for environmental monitoring,” they said.
NASA’s ultimate goal is to establish an Artemis Base Camp on the Moon before the end of the decade, an ambitious plan that would require tens of billions of dollars in funding and the green light from President-elect Joe Biden and Congress.
