NASA Highlights Possible Landing Areas for Crewed Mission to Moon

All of the areas identified by NASA are located in the vicinity of the lunar south pole and contain plenty of terrain that is yet to be explored by humans.

NASA has identified possible landing regions on the Moon as the US space agency moves towards launching a manned mission to Earth’s only natural satellite in the near future.

According to a statement on NASA’s website, all of the regions are located within six degrees latitude of the Moon’s south pole, an area that “contains permanently shadowed regions rich in resources and in terrain unexplored by humans.”

“Several of the proposed sites within the regions are located among some of the oldest parts of the Moon, and together with the permanently shadowed regions, provide the opportunity to learn about the history of the Moon through previously unstudied lunar materials,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead for NASA’s Planetary Science Division.

All of the areas in question contain sites that would afford continuous access to sunlight for the duration of the mission, which is important since access to sunlight not only provides a power source, but also “minimizes temperature variations.”

Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for NASA, also remarked that “developing a blueprint for exploring the solar system means learning how to use resources that are available to us while also preserving their scientific integrity.”

“Lunar water ice is valuable from a scientific perspective and also as a resource, because from it we can extract oxygen and hydrogen for life support systems and fuel,” he added.