NASA has been focusing on landing astronauts near the south pole of the moon in 2024, although the last piece of the order will need to take a back seat if it becomes too tricky to conduct the mission, agency officials confirmed.
The topic of the Artemis landing site program came up at two different events with agency officials this week, starting with the remarks from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to open a digital conference on Sept. 14, hosted by a NASA advisory committee called the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group.
"For the first mission, Artemis 3, our objective is to get to the south pole," Bridenstine said. "But ... it would not surprise me if, for example, if we made a determination that the south pole might be out of reach for Artemis 3, which I'm not saying it is or isn't."
In March 2019, NASA 's latest pull to the moon started when Vice President Mike Pence ordered the agency to step up its timetable to send people to the moon by aiming for the 2024 landing in the south pole. This area fascinates scientists because it stores water ice in dark craters, which can never be penetrated by sunlight.
Ice can be converted into drinking water, breathable air, and rocket fuel - at least in theory; experts are not yet aware of how much ice there is and how easy it is to manipulate. However, the hoped-for resource made the southern pole of the moon a priority. It is an especially hyped aim in the creation of a sustainable moon presence that, more specifically, is supported by the moon itself.
But now, it would seem NASA is looking at the possibility that a back-up plan will be required. The lunar poles are more complicated to access than the equatorial regions, but it could turn out that if the agency encounters roadblocks, a substitute for a simplified landing site might preserve the 2024 target.
And if the agency is centered on the equatorial area of the moon, a number of locations emerge as fascinating immediately: the six Apollo landing locations, which explorers investigated between 1969 and 1972. And Bridenstine added, revisiting the Apollo landing site would have implications beyond science.
On Sept. 16, according to Space Policy Online reporting on a Washington Space Business Roundtable gathering, Kathy Lueders, the associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations directorate, seemed to highlight that the south pole landing site was no longer set in stone.
Instead of dissipating the impression that preparations are in turmoil, she addressed a query about the remarks made by Bridenstine by confirming that NASA is looking at alternatives on how to make a decision.
