Fifty years after the famous Apollo 11 mission, NASA has announced that they’re going back to the moon to establish a base. As a promise from President Donald Trump, the American Space Agency is due to send a human space flight mission to our natural satellite. Astronauts will then establish a settlement here.
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It’s being known as the Artemis mission as a reference to the Greek goddess of the moon and Apollo’s sister. NASA’s director Jim Bridenstine has also promised that a woman will walk on the moon for the first time during this mission. However, the place for this moon landing needs to be chosen, as this still hasn’t been decided by NASA.
Constantly sunlit areas
To help the American Space Agency with this mission, the Lunar and Planetary Institute is taking the lead. This research institute focuses on the study of the Solar System, how it was created and its current state. They have assembled 14 maps of different areas on the Moon’s South Pole. In fact, this area is quite unique and is known for its ‘peaks of eternal light’. In other words, it is always exposed to sun light.
According to the institute, this is a major asset. Once they have landed on the moon, astronauts on the Artemis mission will then set up a base. The craters here are constantly exposed to the sun’s rays and as a result, it would be a good idea to set up solar panels to generate electricity. Some shaded craters could also contain ice, which would be useful for producing drinking water.
