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| This image displays nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, highlighting multiple potential sites for the first crewed Moon landing in over 50 years, with a background mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Wide Angle Camera. |
As NASA gears up for its first crewed Moon landing in over fifty years, the agency has unveiled an updated list of nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for its upcoming Artemis III mission. These sites will undergo further scientific and engineering evaluations as part of the agency’s preparations.
“Artemis will return humanity to the Moon and explore uncharted territories,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office. “Our selection of these regions underscores our commitment to ensuring crew safety while unlocking new scientific discoveries on the lunar surface.”
The refined candidate landing regions, selected by NASA’s Cross Agency Site Selection Analysis team in collaboration with science and industry partners, are as follows (in no particular order):
- Peak near Cabeus B
- Haworth
- Malapert Massif
- Mons Mouton Plateau
- Mons Mouton
- Nobile Rim 1
- Nobile Rim 2
- de Gerlache Rim 2
- Slater Plain
These diverse geological sites offer a range of mission opportunities and could harbor permanently shadowed areas that may contain valuable resources, including water.
“The Moon’s South Pole presents an environment vastly different from that of the Apollo missions,” noted Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead. “This region provides access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain and areas that may contain water and other essential compounds, enabling groundbreaking scientific research.”
In selecting these regions, a multidisciplinary team analyzed extensive data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter alongside a wealth of lunar research. The selection criteria included scientific potential, terrain suitability, communication capabilities, and lighting conditions, ensuring optimal safety and accessibility for astronauts.
Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist, emphasized the significance of this mission: “Artemis III will mark the first time astronauts land in the Moon’s south polar region, using a new lander and exploring a unique terrain. The goal is to find safe landing sites that also offer rich scientific opportunities.”
NASA’s site assessment team plans to engage with the lunar science community through workshops and conferences to further refine their geological maps and assess the regional geology of the selected areas. The agency will continue to survey the lunar South Pole for both scientific value and mission potential, laying the groundwork for future Artemis missions, including Artemis IV and V, which will incorporate expanded scientific objectives and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle.
Ultimately, NASA aims to finalize landing sites for Artemis III in alignment with the mission’s target launch dates, ensuring a successful and historic return to the Moon that includes landing the first woman, the first person of color, and international astronauts on the lunar surface, while paving the way for future human expeditions to Mars.
