Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: NASA

Earth’s Moon is far from being a “been there, done that” world notwithstanding a dozen Apollo short-stay visitors between 1969 and 1972.

The space agency is eying an Artemis Base Camp, calling it “our first foothold on the lunar frontier.”

The ingredients for that encampment are a Lunar Terrain Vehicle – an unpressurized rover – to transport suited astronauts around the site; a habitable mobility platform – a pressurized rover – to enable long-duration treks away from Artemis Base Camp. Lastly there would be the surface habitat itself, capable of housing four humans at a lunar south pole locale.

Illustration of NASA astronauts on the lunar south pole carrying out early work to establish an Artemis Base Camp. Will placing Artemis astronauts on the Moon become a stepping stone to a sustained presence on Earth’s celestial next door neighbor? Credit: NASA

Digging in deep

To tackle key challenges that need addressing, a Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium is being hosted by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. It is work in progress and an ongoing endeavor that functions in collaboration with the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate.

This APL-led consortium is digging in deep into road-mapping ways to move humans outward, back to the Moon, re-planting crews there, but in a sustained way.

To learn more, go to my new Space.com article — “Rebooting” the moon: NASA’s Artemis program aims for lunar sustainability – Innovative technologies are needed to forge the first long-term presence on the moon” – at:

https://www.space.com/rebooting-moon-nasa-artemis-sustainability