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NASA’s Artemis III mission, currently scheduled for September 2026, will return astronauts to the Moon. Unlike Neil Armstrong’s first boots near the equator in 1969, Artemis III will send astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole, no mean feat.
The Joint Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and Human Surface Mobility Test Team (JETT) are responsible for this mission. NASA said Jett “It is a dedicated team that develops, integrates and executes human-in-the-loop testing and simulation missions.” This is the fifth JETT exercise, known as JETT5.
JETT5 conducted a mission simulation for Artemis III from May 13 to 17, 2024. The crew worked from the San Francisco Volcano Area in northern Arizona, about 45 minutes north of Flagstaff, while the science team communicated with them from the Science Evaluation Room (SER) in Houston, Texas, about 1,200 miles away. As the astronauts explore the lunar south pole, they will communicate with more than 200,000 people. A few miles from home.
JETT5 was designed to develop protocols, concepts of operations, documentation and structures for how science will be integrated into lunar surface exploration during the Artemis missions. The JETT5 science team followed a similar planning process as the Artemis program, including the generation of geologic maps, identification of priority sites for crew visits, traverse plans and science operations products.
map
Maps have been a specialty of the USGS for decades. Here, USGS and other JETT5 science team members prepare maps for the crew and SERs to guide the development of science objectives and transect plans.
The JETT5 science team mapped primary and alternate landing sites in the SP region. The San Francisco volcanic area was chosen for these activities because of its lunar-like terrain, known as a simulated field landing site. These maps are used in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) in Houston, during training exercises, and by astronauts in the field. Historically, the USGS has produced detailed maps that have aided our understanding and study of planetary bodies, including Earth.
JETT5 actual operation status:
Dr. Lauren Edgar, a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center, is co-lead of the JETT5 science team and deputy principal investigator of the Artemis III geology team.“JETT5 is the highest-fidelity Artemis EVA simulation mission conducted to date,” said Dr. Edgar of the recent exercise in northern Arizona. “JETT5 will prepare for Artemis lunar exploration by improving how science is integrated into flight operations, as well as testing the hardware, software, communications and navigation aspects involved in lunar EVA.”
The JETT5 test included multiple scenarios, including crew communications and loss of communication, video feeds reaching Houston, and testing real-time image transmission. The latter scenario allowed scientists in the SER to observe what the astronauts saw and aided in their geological interpretation during extravehicular activities (EVAs).
This sci-fi landscape – Antarctica – will be dark, with mountains and even small boulders casting long, deep shadows, and contain deep pits and rocky terrain. Some of the pits will be permanently in shadow, according to NASA. temperature Temperatures can reach a chilling -334°F (-203°C), and it is thought that water ice is hidden where sunlight cannot reach. Where sunlight does reach, temperatures can reach around 130°F (54°C). Since there is no atmosphere on the moon, the lunar sky seen by astronauts is black, and they can only see the sun above the horizon. The earth rises and sets along the horizon for long periods of time, but never rises more than a few degrees above the horizon.
Testing these challenging lighting conditions
Another part of the test operations involves the crew working in the difficult lighting conditions that can occur at the lunar south pole.
“To simulate the harsh lighting conditions that can occur at the lunar south pole, some JETT EVAs are planned to be conducted at night, using a portable spotlight to act as the sun to simulate conditions when the sun is below the horizon,” said James A. Skinner, an astrogeologist and mapping supervisor with the U.S. Geological Survey.
To understand the change in lighting, take a look at Mouton Monsthe highest mountain near Antarctica. The caption describes the camera slowly flying towards the mountain, the light changes dramatically and the terrain becomes clearly visible. Absolutely mesmerizing!
Reasons to Visit the Moon’s South Pole
On the lunar surface, astronauts’ work is expected to answer some of NASA’s most pressing questions and bring back geological samples that may explain Earth’s history. The lunar south pole is actually a large impact basin with the thinnest crust on the moon, which may contain rocks that represent the moon’s interior. Samples brought back from this area could answer questions about the formation of the solar system, the formation of the Earth and the moon, and the evolution of our nearest neighbor.
Among the more questions scientists are asking are: Is there water on the Moon? If so, where is it? Can water be found in dark, shadowed craters that never see sunlight? Can water be found in the Moon’s layer of crushed soil, called regolith? Is there enough water there to mine for resources to make drinking water, oxygen and rocket fuel? If the materials are already there, it would be much easier to build a human lunar base (as NASA and commercial partners are planning) than to ship it in from Earth. Learn more about why we’re studying water on the Moon in our resource bulletins: 2022 Lunar Resource Exploration Assessment | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov).
Astronauts won’t be traveling to the moon alone. We’ll be traveling with them in any way possible!
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