New Delhi: NASA has selected two advanced science instruments to be launched on the Artemis IV mission, and this move is one significant step in further
exploring the South Polar region of the Moon. The instruments will assist scientists to improve the knowledge of the lunar environment and assist the future missions to Mars. The choice highlights the fact that NASA is concerned with the collection of essential information that will be able to secure astronauts and spacecraft that will be functioning far out in space.
The instruments will examine dust of the moon, plasma, and earthquakes. This study relies on the experience of the Apollo missions, where the abrasive lunar dust was reported to have impacted the equipment and visibility of the astronauts. NASA seeks to establish a safer and more sustainable way to explore the Moon for long durations by creating new instruments to monitor dust and plasma and the internal structure of the Moon.
DUSTER to examine lunar dust and plasma
The first instrument package, which is named DUSTER (Dust and Plasma Environment Surveyor), will examine the dynamics of dust around the landing point. The system will contain charge, speed, size, and movement of dust particles, which it will measure in accordance with the size of a small autonomous rover. It will also observe the density of electrons beyond the surface of the moon. By supplying the rover Lunar Outpost, the natural lunar environment will be unveiled in terms of impacts of human activity. Xu Wang of the University of Colorado Boulder is the project head under a contract of 24.8 million dollars.
SPSS to Probe the Moon’s interior
The second tool is the South Pole Seismic Station (SPSS), which will examine the interior structure of the Moon. It will monitor the meteorite hit, seismic shaking, and movement on the ground which might affect the activities of the astronauts. An active-source test will also be performed by the crews where a device will produce seismic waves in order to map shallow layers of the subsurface. Mark Panning of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has won a project of SPSS with funding of $25 million in three years.
Next steps for Artemis IV
NASA stressed the fact that these instruments are based on priorities in science identified by the agency and the scientific world at large. They will be chosen to be developed, but the ultimate choices of which payloads will be launched to space on Artemis IV will be determined later. The Artemis programme is meant to open up new scientific discoveries, industry on the Moon in the future, and prepare human missions to the Moon.
