NASA has recently been focusing almost entirely on Artemis, the moon missions that will ensure that we discover much more about what we can do with the moon. But also the first time that a woman and a black person set foot on the heavenly body. Very special, but it also requires real work: NASA has made a whole list of tasks that the astronauts have to perform.
NASA moon mission
NASA has selected several instruments to go along on the journey and they have everything to do with the different tasks that need to be performed. LEAF, LEMS and LDA will go to the moon: this is what they are and what exactly they do.
LEAF
Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora is the ‘mission’ that examines whether crops can be grown on the moon. It is actually the farmer’s mission: are plants able to grow in this special place and to what extent does space radiation play a role in this? It will also be exciting to see what plants do when gravity is gone. It is an important mission, because being able to grow plants (as we also saw in The Martian) can ensure that the astronauts can provide themselves with food. Secretly, this experiment also has everything to do with Mars: although the journey there will take a long time, being able to grow crops on that planet is even more important (that’s a 6 to 9 month journey and so you won’t get anything there). provisions).
LEMS
The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station does not have an extensive role, but it does have an important one: detecting earthquakes, or rather moonquakes. Because Artemis focuses more on the south pole of the moon, it is good to know what the vibrations are like in the ground there. Not only because it is good to know for the safety of people and equipment, but also so that we can discover how the moon is constructed and how it was formed.
LDA
The Lunar Dielectric Analyzer is there to measure the direct soil of the moon: it is also called regolith and is a kind of granular. This device must discover to what extent these grains can conduct electricity. That in turn helps with discoveries about ice, which in turn is important because water ice can be used as both drinking water and fuel. That would save a lot of freight.
Artemis III
This year it has been quiet around Artemis in terms of launches. The Artemis II manned mission is scheduled for the fall of 2025, but it will not land on the moon. Artemis III would follow in September 2026: the manned mission that does set foot on the moon (and disrespectfully to Artemis II: number 3 is the mission that it is all about in the end).
