NASA selects three new science investigations for its Moon Base outpost
NASA has selected three new PRISM science investigations — LEMS-SP, GIMLI and DISCO — to fly to the Moon on commercial landers, scouting resources, shelters and hazards for its first lunar outpost.
NASA has selected three new scientific investigations and their payload suites to advance knowledge of the Moon and help pave the way for its first lunar outpost, Moon Base.
The instruments were chosen through the agency’s PRISM programme — Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon — and will fly to the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative as part of the Moon Base Program, NASA announced in release 26-080 on September 30.
The payloads are intended to help researchers understand lunar resources, map natural shelters and assess environmental hazards, laying the groundwork for a safe and sustained human presence under the agency’s Artemis and Moon Base programmes.
“NASA Science is building the ultimate interplanetary survival guide to ensure that science goes first to the lunar surface to provide our future astronaut crews with the vital information, resources, and safety precautions needed ahead of time to survive the night on the Moon,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
The three suites are: LEMS-SP (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station – South Pole), led by Dr Mehdi Benna of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which will monitor falling micrometeoroids and volatiles with a short-period seismometer; GIMLI (Geophysical Investigation for Mapping Lunar Interior), led by Dr Nathaniel Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute, which will probe the Marius Hills Pit for subterranean lava tubes that could give future astronauts ready-made protection from temperature extremes and radiation; and DISCO (Distribution of Ice and Surface Characteristics Observatory), led by Dr Ariel Deutsch of NASA’s Ames Research Center, which will take the first direct on-the-ground measurements of ice in lunar micro-cold traps and study how rocket exhaust disturbs the surface.
“Each new PRISM selection strengthens our ability to deliver ambitious, transformative science to the lunar surface,” said Brad Bailey, director of the Exploration Science Strategy Integration Office.
Sources
More on this topic: all Satellite Internet stories
