NASA has finally shared details of nine potential areas it could use as Artemis III landing zones on the Moon. The Artemis III mission is one of the most exciting and highly anticipated space missions of the next decade, and so far, NASA has been very clear about where it plans to send the astronauts.
Although we are not expecting Artemis III to launch in the near future – the latest Artemis II delay means we will have to wait even longer for a third mission – many are anxiously awaiting more information from NASA. Are doing. The space agency has finally shared information about the nine regions where it could drop its next moon lander.
All nine of the potential Artemis III landing zones are located near the moon's south pole, which astronomers believe may hold exciting secrets, such as pearls of the moon that hold crystallized water. This new list of potential candidates is further refined from NASA's initial list and includes the following areas in no particular order:
- Peak near Cabius B
- Haworth
- Malapert Massif
- mons mouton plateau
- mons mouton
- Nobel Rim 1
- nobel rim 2
- De Gerlache Rim 2
- slater plain
Now, it remains to be seen whether NASA decides on any specific area soon. With SpaceX's recent success in capturing Starship during its fifth test, Artemis missions don't seem as out of reach as they did a few months ago when SpaceX could barely keep Starship from exploding during one of its first test flights.
While NASA doesn't plan to use Starship for every part of the journey, SpaceX will play a key role in returning mankind to the Moon for the first time since the 1970s. NASA also says that when selecting these potential landing zones for Artemis III, the team assessed the capabilities of NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion capsule, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure They will work with each sector as best they can.