New Delhi: In 2022, NASA had announced 13 candidate landing sites for the Artemis III mission to the Moon. Now, NASA has released an updated list, with 9 landing sites. NASA has dropped the idea of landing on the Amudsen Rim, the Correcting Ridge, or the Connecting Ridge Extension at the Shackleton Crater, the peak near Shackleton Crater, Faustini Rim A, the Leibnitz Beta Plateau, de Gerlache Rim 1 and the de Gerlache-Kocher Massif. Mons Mouton, the Mons Mouton Plateau, the peak near Cabeus B and the Slater Plain have been identified as new landing locations. Haworth, the Malpert Massif, de Gerlache Rim 2 and Nobile Rim 1 and 2, are in both the lists.
The nine candidate landing sites of the Artemis III mission. (Image Credit: NASA).
In total, eight of the 13 originally planned sites have been discarded, with four new landing zones forming the new list of nine. The selected sites all contain diverse geological characteristics, with a multidisciplinary team of scientists analysing the data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter along with all the scientific research conducted so far to determine the best landing zones, that account for launch availability, terrain suitability, communications capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions.
Beyond Artemis III
The work is ongoing with NASA’s dedicated site assessment team planning to engage with the science community to further gather data, build geologic maps, and continued surveys of the lunar south pole region. The research will also help determine the landing sites for future crewed Artemis missions beyond the return of American boots on the surface of the Moon after a gap of over 50 years with the Artemis III mission. NASA plans to launch the Artemis III mission by the end of 2026. China is aiming for a crewed landing on the Moon by the year 2030, with ISRO planning to follow by 2040.
