It’s taken more than half a century, but NASA really is going back to the moon.
Some of the space agency’s astronauts have been training in the Northern Arizona desert for the looming Artemis 3 mission, which is currently slated to land in September 2026. Decades of other U.S. space priorities (such as the Space Shuttle and building the International Space Station), along with the astronomical costs of sending astronauts to our natural satellite, have impeded such a return endeavor.
But after the successful launch of NASA’s new megarocket in 2022 — the Space Launch System — the moon mission’s wheels are turning, albeit slowly. That’s because every component of the agency’s new lunar campaign, dubbed Artemis, must be profoundly safe. Lives will be aboard.
NASA has released images of the astronauts’ May 2024 training in the desert, including a recent view of NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas simulating a nighttime space walk (the official Artemis 3 astronaut crew has yet to be announced). Training in the dark or twilight is essential, as the conditions mimic the dark, shadowy regions Artemis astronauts will explore: NASA is going to the moon’s south pole region, a place where the sun barely rises over the lunar hills. It’s a world of profoundly long shadows and dim environs.
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The endeavor you see below is called the Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Test Team Field Test 5, or JETT5.
NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas simulating a moonwalk for the looming Artemis 3 mission.
Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
On left: Astronaut Andre Douglas reviews sample collection procedures. On right: Astronaut Kate Rubins ensures she has the necessary tools.
Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
Astronaut Kate Rubins used a hammer to drive in tube that will collect soil samples from the ground. On the moon, these samples will be sealed and then returned to Earth.
Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
The two astronauts pushing a tool cart across the desert surface.
Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel
NASA captured these images in a rugged region called the San Francisco Volcanic Field. The area astronauts are headed to is also quite rugged. It’s a heavily cratered region, teeming with volcanic rocks. Crucially, they’ll be hunting for ice deposits, too.
“The ice deposits could also serve as an important resource for exploration because they are comprised of hydrogen and oxygen that can be used for rocket fuel or life support systems,” NASA explained.
The moon may one day serve as a lunar fuel depot, where after burning copious amounts of fuel during launch, spacecraft stop to fill up for deeper space missions. They may be headed to Mars, resource-rich asteroids, or beyond.
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