Article introduction: As a scientific and technological power, NASA became the first NASA to set the scientific focus of Artemis on the moon. Will lead the world to explore the unknown world.
NASA defines the scientific priorities for the first Artemis manned lunar landing
NASA has set the scientific priorities for the agency's Artemis III mission, which will send the first woman and the next man to the moon in 2024. Priority and candidate activity sets are included in the new report.
The Artemis III Scientific Definitions Group, made up of federal employees and consultants with expertise in lunar science, began organizing meetings in September to define compelling and achievable scientific goals for all aspects of the Artemis III mission, including sampling strategies, field trips, and experiments that could be carried out.
Source: NASA Artist Concept EVA astronauts working on the lunar surface.
The Moon is often considered the cornerstone of the solar system, and these high-priority investigations will help scientists better understand the fundamental processes of planets operating in the solar system and beyond. In addition, the team will prioritize investigations that would help NASA understand the risks and potential resources of the moon's south pole, where the agency hopes to establish the concept of the Artemis base camp before the end of the decade.
Thomas Zebson, chief assistant to NASA's Science Missions Committee, said, "The Moon has tremendous scientific potential, and astronauts will help us make that science happen, and in fact, before the Artemis III landings, our agency's scientific and human exploration teams were working together in unprecedented ways to ensure we could take full advantage of each other." The report outlines a path to compelling science that we can now consider doing research on the lunar surface with human explorers. ”
The team explored questions including how to conduct lunar surface surveys and key scientific activities, as well as how to integrate science into the operational concept of a manned lunar mission. The group also publicly tendered for articles from the lunar scientific community and drew on the essence of many of the existing reports outlining the highest scientific priorities, which for decades have been preparing for a return to the lunar surface.
Kathy Ludders, principal assistant to NASA's Human Exploration and Action Missions Council, said: "Science will be part of the Artemis mission, and we look forward to leveraging the team's thoughtful work to plan missions for human and scientific discovery." "The work NASA is already doing on the scientific front will prepare for artemis III's landing in 2024 and maximize the scientific value of humanity's first return to the lunar surface since 1972."
Source: Conceptual view of NASA's Artemis astronaut stepping onto the lunar surface
Like the experience of human exploration in the Apollo era, every second of astronauts on the lunar surface will be meticulously planned, and the report will provide resources for mission planners who will develop manned lunar landings.
Activities related to field geology, sample collection and repatriation, and deployable experiments are all part of the necessary work to advance the lunar science program. Overall, this set of candidate activities will address the highest scientific priorities that can be achieved at the lunar south pole.
The team also provides an all-encompassing scope by assessing which scientific goals can actually be achieved in the Artemis III surface mission. As the capabilities, landing sites, and other architectural details of the human landing system become clearer, NASA will develop a detailed mission operation plan. The procedures and operational techniques developed for Artemis III will also inform future Artemis missions.
Renee Weber, chief scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and co-chair of the team that led the effort, said, "We wanted to combine what appealed most to the lunar scientific community with what astronauts can do on the lunar surface and how the two can contribute to each other, and the team's hard work will ensure that we can harness the potential of Artemis III to help us learn from the moon as a gateway to the rest of the solar system." ”
As the 2024 Artemis III manned launch program advances, NASA's Scientific and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Committee will work together to integrate the recommendations into the scientific strategy of the agency's Artemis Program.
Artemis III has the potential to enable the scientific community to make significant progress on many of the identified priority scientific goals, including helping us better understand how the Moon formed and evolved, how it interacted with the Sun, how water and other resources reached the Moon, how it was transported, and how it is currently preserved.
BY:Katherine Brown
FY:Turboj
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