Artemis Archives

October 19, 2024October 19, 2024 by Matt Williams

New Simulation Will Help Future Missions Collect Moon Dust

The ESA lunar base, showing its location within the Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole. New research proposes building a repository at one of the lunar poles to safeguard Earth's biodiversity. Credit: SOM/ESA

In this decade and the next, multiple space agencies will send crewed missions to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo Era. These missions will culminate in the creation of permanent lunar infrastructure, including habitats, using local resources – aka. In-situ resource utilization (ISRU). This will include lunar regolith, which robots equipped with additive manufacturing (3D printing) will use to fashion building materials. These operations will leverage advances in teleoperation, where controllers on Earth will remotely operate robots on the lunar surface.

According to new research by scientists at the University of Bristol, the technology is one step closer to realization. Through a virtual simulation, the team completed a sample collection task and sent commands to a robot that mimicked the simulation’s actions in real life. Meanwhile, the team monitored the simulation without requiring live camera streams, which are subject to a communications lag on the Moon. This project effectively demonstrates that the team’s method is well-suited for teleoperations on the lunar surface.

September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 by Carolyn Collins Petersen

Europe Simulates the Moon on Earth

ESA's LUNA facility allows future lunar astronauts to train in simulated Moon conditions here on Earth. Courtesy ESA.

Where do you go to practice living and working on the Moon before you actually get there? That’s the question the European Space Agency and German Aerospace Center wanted to answer. So, they worked together to build a mockup of the Moon’s surface near Cologne, Germany.

September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 by Laurence Tognetti

Artemis Missions Could Put the most Powerful imaging Telescope on the Moon

Simulations depicting the potential solar physics science that the Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI) on the Moon could accomplish. (Credit: Figure 2/Rau et al. (2024))

Ground-based interferometry on Earth has proven to be a successful method for conducting science by combining light from several telescopes into acting like a single large telescope. But how can a ultraviolet (UV)/optical interferometer telescope on the Moon deliver enhanced science, and can the Artemis missions help make this a reality? This is what a recently submitted study to the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024 conference hopes to address as a team of researchers propose the Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI) that, as its name implies, could potentially be delivered to the lunar surface via NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions. This proposal was recently accepted as a Phase 1 study through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program and holds the potential to develop revolutionary extremely high-angular resolution way of conducting science on other planetary bodies while contributing to other missions, as well.

September 7, 2024September 7, 2024 by Laurence Tognetti

Artemis III Landing Sites Identified Using Mapping and Algorithm Techniques

Rendition of the 13 candidate landing site regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, with each region measuring approximately 15 by 15 kilometers (9.3 by 9.3 miles). Final landing sites within those regions measure approximately 200 meters (656 feet) across. (Credit: NASA)

Where would be the most ideal landing site for the Artemis III crew in SpaceX’s Human Landing System (HLS)? This is what a recent study submitted to Acta Astronautica hopes to address as an international team of scientists investigated plausible landing sites within the lunar south pole region, which comes after NASA selected 13 candidate landing regions in August 2022 and holds the potential to enable new methods in determining landing sites for future missions, as well.

September 4, 2024September 4, 2024 by Matt Williams

A Review of Humanity’s Planned Expansion Between the Earth and the Moon

Artist's impression of astronauts on the lunar surface, as part of the Artemis Program. Credit: NASA

Between Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and the Moon, there is a region of space measuring 384,400 km (238,855 mi) wide known as Cislunar space. In the coming decades, multiple space agencies will send missions to this region to support the development of infrastructure that will lead to a permanent human presence on the Moon. This includes orbital and surface habitats, landing pads, surface vehicles, technologies for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and other elements that will enable the long-term exploration and development of the lunar surface.

For all parties concerned, Cislunar space holds immense potential in terms of scientific, commercial, and military applications. The vastly increased level of activity on and around the Moon makes space domain awareness (SDA) – knowledge of all operations within a region of space – paramount. It is also necessary to ensure the continued success and utilization of the covered region. In a recent paper, a team of aerospace engineers considered the missions planned for the coming decades and evaluated the state and shortcomings of their space domain awareness.

August 14, 2024August 14, 2024 by Evan Gough

What Time is it on the Moon? Lunar GPS Needs to Know

We intend to explore the Moon, use its resources, and use it as a jumping-off point for missions deeper into the Solar System. For that we need a Lunar GPS. Image Credit: NASA

GPS is ubiquitous on Earth. It guides everything from precision surveying to aircraft navigation. To realize our vision of lunar exploration with a sustained human presence, we’ll need the same precision on the Moon.

That starts with an accurate clock.

July 15, 2024July 15, 2024 by Matt Williams

Dune-Inspired Stillsuits Could Allow Astronauts to Recycle Their Urine Into Water

A Fremen from Dune wearing a stillsuit. Credit: DALL-E generated image

If history has taught us one thing, it is that science fiction often gives way to science fact. Consider the Star Trek communicator and the rise of flip phones in the late 1990s and early 2000s, or how 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted orbiting space stations and reusable space planes – like the International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle. And who can forget Jules Verne’s classic, From the Earth to the Moon, and how it anticipated that humans would one day walk on the Moon? Almost a century later, this dream would be realized with the Apollo Program.

The latest comes from Cornell University, where a team of researchers has developed a novel in-suit urine collection and filtration system inspired by the suits the Fremen wore in Frank Herbert’s Dune. Once integrated into NASA’s standard spacesuit—the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)—this system has the potential to provide astronauts with additional water while reducing the risk of hygiene-related medical events. In short, the stillsuit technology has the potential to enable longer-duration missions on the surface of the Moon, Mars, and orbit.

July 8, 2024July 8, 2024 by Matt Williams

A Moon Base Will Need a Transport System

Artist's impression of astronauts on the lunar surface, as part of the Artemis Program. How will they store power on the Moon? 3D printed batteries could help. Credit: NASA

Through the Artemis Program, NASA will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 landed in 1972. Beyond this historic mission, scheduled for September 2026, NASA plans to establish the infrastructure that will enable annual missions to the Moon, eventually leading to a permanent human presence there. As we addressed in a previous article, this will lead to a huge demand for cargo delivery systems that meet the logistical, scientific, and technical requirements of crews engaged in exploration.

Beyond this capacity for delivering crews and cargo, there is also the need for transportation systems that will address logistical needs and assist in exploration efforts. These requirements were outlined in a 2024 Moon to Mars Architecture white paper titled “Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs.” Picking up from the concurrently-released “Lunar Surface Cargo,” this whitepaper addresses the need for lunar infrastructure that will enable the movement of astronauts and payloads from landing sites to where they are needed the most. As usual, they identified a critical gap between the current capabilities and what is to be expected.

July 6, 2024July 7, 2024 by Matt Williams

NASA's Skyrocketing Need for Cargo Deliveries to the Moon

NASA has big plans for the Moon. Through the Artemis Program, NASA plans to create a program of “sustained exploration and lunar development.” This will include the creation of the Lunar Gateway, an orbital habitat that will facilitate missions to and from the surface, and the Artemis Base Camp that will allow for extended stays. Through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, NASA has contracted with commercial partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver scientific experiments and crew to the lunar surface.

However, these efforts are expected to culminate in the creation of a permanent outpost and human presence on the Moon. This will require far more in the way of crew and payload services to ensure crews can be sustained in the long run. In a recent white paper, “Lunar Surface Cargo,” NASA researchers identified a significant gap between current cargo delivery capabilities and future demand. The paper indicates that this growing cargo demand can only be met by creating a “mixed cargo lander fleet.”

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 by Matt Williams

Making Rocket Fuel Out of Lunar Regolith

An illustration of a Moon base that could be built using 3D printing and ISRU, In-Situ Resource Utilization. Credit: RegoLight, visualisation: Liquifer Systems Group, 2018

In the coming years, NASA and other space agencies plan to extend the reach of human exploration. This will include creating infrastructure on the Moon that will allow for crewed missions on a regular basis. This infrastructure will allow NASA and its international partners to make the next great leap by sending crewed missions to Mars (by 2039 at the earliest). Having missions operate this far from Earth for extended periods means that opportunities for resupply will be few and far between. As a result, crews will need to rely on In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), where local resources are leveraged to provide for basic needs.

In addition to air, water, and building materials, the ability to create propellant from local resources is essential. According to current mission architectures, this would consist of harvesting water ice in the polar regions and breaking it down to create liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH₂). However, according to a new study led by engineers from McGill University, rocket propellant could be fashioned from lunar regolith as well. Their findings could present new opportunities for future missions to the Moon, which would no longer be restricted to the polar regions.