NASA recently announced its plan to advance human presence on the moon starting with its Artemis III crewed mission. The agency revealed the selection of its first science instruments that Artemis III astronauts will use to explore the lunar south pole in September 2026.
Unlike the Apollo crewed missions to the moon in the past century, NASA is planning to establish a permanent human presence on the lunar surface starting with its Artemis crewed mission. Hence, the American Space Agency hopes to use the best technology so far to study the moon for future colonization.
The success of the Artemis space program will determine when NASA will be preparing for crewed missions to Mars. Hence, the space agency selected the best cutting-edge technologies to be used during the Artemis crewed missions to the lunar south pole. These technologies will help NASA to counter several challenges it may encounter in the process of building colonies on the lunar surface.
“Artemis marks a bold new era of exploration, where human presence amplifies scientific discovery. With these innovative instruments stationed on the Moon’s surface, we’re embarking on a transformative journey that will kick-start the ability to conduct human-machine teaming – an entirely new way of doing science,” said Pam Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator.
“These three deployed instruments were chosen to begin scientific investigations that will address key Moon to Mars science objectives,” Melroy added.
What You Should Know About The Science Instruments
NASA carefully selected these science instruments to investigate the lunar surface in various ways. The first instrument on the list is the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS). LEMS is designed as a small seismometer suite that will regularly measure ground motion from moonquakes.
The team of scientists that developed this fascinating technology was led by Mehdi Benna of the University of Maryland. In addition, this powerful autonomous science instrument will give scientists enriched data about the structure of the Moon’s crust and its mantle.
NASA officials revealed that the data provided by LEMS might possibly give detailed information about the formation and evolution of the moon. The sophisticated technology will actively obtain science data for a specific duration ranging from three months to two years. NASA noted that LEMS may likely “become a key station in a future global lunar geophysical network.”
The second science instrument on the list is the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF). LEAF is primarily designed to study the growth of plants on the lunar surface for human consumption. NASA developed this instrument to monitor the plant’s photosynthesis, its growth, and its stress responses under space radiation and lunar gravity.
Data obtained by the LEAF instrument will be essential for sustaining humans on the lunar surface in the future. The instrument will also be beneficial for the development of life support systems for lunar explorers. Christine Escobar of Space Lab Technologies, LLC in Boulder, Colorado conducted the development of LEAF science instruments.
Advancing the hunt for ice on the lunar surface
The last instrument on the list is the Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA). LDA was developed to check the capacity of using the lunar regolith to create an electric field. The device will primarily help astronauts in finding ice on the lunar surface. NASA also plans to use LDA is obtain essential science data on the structure of the moon’s subsurface.
The instrument will also help to monitor differences in dielectric features induced by the Sun’s changing angle as the Moon rotates. The instrument will basically hunt for ice deposits or frost formation which are necessary for sustaining humanity and our technologies on the moon in the future.
LDA was developed by an international team led by Hideaki Miyamoto of the University of Tokyo and supported by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
“These three scientific instruments will be our first opportunity since Apollo to leverage the unique capabilities of human explorers to conduct transformative lunar science,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
“These payloads mark our first steps toward implementing the recommendations for the high-priority science outlined in the Artemis III Science Definition Team report,” Kearns added in the press release.
NASA is hoping to launch its Artemis III mission in September 2026 and we hope to see the US. space agency tests these futuristic instruments on the lunar surface.
