NASA has plans to revisit the Earth's satellite and land a manned mission to the dark of the moon. The next time a human journey to the moon's dark side will be a few years from now, after more than fifty years.
Humans To Visit the Moon Again
A major concern is where exactly these astronauts will land as NASA prepares to send teams of people to the lunar south pole by December 2024, reported Science Alert.
Revealing 13 potential landing sites for Artemis III, the mission that will finally transport that priceless human cargo, we now have a clear grasp.
Deciding these areas to land, Mark Kirasich of the Artemis Campaign Development Division at the space agency, means researchers are one huge step nearer to sending people back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo, he added.
When it does happen, he continued, it will be distinct from any other expedition that has gone before as astronauts probe remote regions that have yet to be visited by individuals to lay the foundation for potential longer stays.
Possible Landing in the Moon's Dark Areas
The lunar south pole is a substantial target for more exploration and is still within 6 degrees of latitude of all 13 potential landing areas.
An unexplored region of the moon has no human habitation and only an empty landscape. But it requires more technical preparation and presents more difficulties than the Apollo missions' equatorial landings.
Astronauts will be sent to the Earth's satellite on the third mission after addressing any safety concerns. The Artemis mission consists of two unmanned stages: Artemis I and Artemis II.
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It will be difficult for the US space agency NASA to succeed in that region of the lunar south pole of its manned mission inside the dark of the moon.
Researchers hope to find ice water formation on the dark side of the lunar body, which has cold traps that reach -163 degrees Celsius.
There is speculation that these several-meter-thick ice deposits are on the dark side and will be mined by manned lunar spacecraft in the future. The astronauts will research and use these water sources, citing News Achieve.
Each of the 13 landing zones is roughly 15 kilometers (9 miles) square and contains several potential locations with a diameter of 200 meters (656 feet).
All of these potential landing sites are within walking distance of a permanently shadowed region and close to a lunar crater's edge or a ridge, ensuring that astronauts can obtain and locate places that may contain water.
Potential landing zones are places that may contain water and with enough cover to a lunar crater's edge or ridge.
According to exploration scientist Jacob Bleacher of the US space agency, creating a plan for exploring the solar system entails learning how to use the resources at our disposal while also upholding their scientific integrity.
Furthermore, since we can retrieve hydrogen and oxygen from lunar water ice to be used in fuel and life support systems, it is beneficial scientifically and as an asset.
For the six and a half Earth days, the astronauts will be on the Moon, and each landing zone also offers sunlight access. This is essential for stable solar power generation and low-temperature swings.
NASA and its preparation for the Artemis III manned mission are crucial to giving the go-ahead to the Dark of the Moon.
