Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images.
Image credit: NASA

NASA has released an updated set of nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for its Artemis III mission.

The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority 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

Criteria used

According to NASA, these regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability.

Rendering of Artemis astronauts exploring a lunar south pole crater. A water ice-rich resource ready for processing?
Image credit: NASA

Criteria used to pick these regions: Science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions.

Additionally, the multidisciplinary team assessed the combined trajectory capabilities of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the SpaceX Starship Human Landing System to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.

The lunar South Pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water, NASA explains.

Image credit: NASA