NASA reveals where it wants to land on the Moon on the next manned mission

NASA has selected 13 sites near the Moon’s South Pole that could be the landing site for the next manned mission to the satellite. Artemis III – Who will be the first to take a woman and a black man to the moon?

The sites were chosen because they have their own land for the landing, and also because they are close to permanently shadowed areas that would allow astronauts to roam uncharted regions of the Moon. Thus, they will be able to verify the depth, distribution and composition of the water ice already confirmed on the satellite.

See below the video (with English subtitles) about the selected regions.

NASA pointed out that each location has potentially safe landing sites and billions of years of preserved geological history that could reveal the secrets of the ancient universe.

For a landing site, look at the 13 candidate sites:

• Faustini Edge A
• The summit near Shackleton
• Connection Summit
• Attaching the back extension
• Gerlache rim 1
• Gerlache rim 2
• Gerlache-Kocher Massif
• haworth
• Malapert Massif
• Leibnitz’s Beta Plateau
• Nobile rim 1
• Nobile rim 2
• Amundsen edge

All regions contain locations that provide continuous access to sunlight for a period of 6.5 days, the planned duration of the Artemis III mission. Access to sunlight is critical for prolonged stays on the Moon, both as an energy source and to minimize temperature changes, according to NASA.

Potential sites will henceforth be discussed with the science and engineering communities. The feedback should assist in the selection of future locations and identify potential additional sites. The agency will also work with SpaceX to validate the Starship spacecraft’s landing capabilities.

Shipment of Artemis I, which has embarked on a series of missions to return man to the Moon, is scheduled for next Monday (29).