Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, October 22 (Xinhua)-- two NASA missions in Arizona are trying to simulate exploration of the moon's south pole.

CTOnews.com has learned that NASA is preparing to launch the unmanned Artemis 1 mission around the moon as soon as November 14, while Artemis 2 will fly around the moon.

To prepare for astronauts who may walk on the surface of the moon, NASA is currently conducting a simulated "moonwalk" on Earth, and the site chosen by NASA is in the Arizona desert.

"the Arizona Desert has many characteristics similar to the lunar environment, including challenging terrain, interesting geology and minimal communications infrastructure, all of which astronauts may experience near the South Pole of the moon during the Artemis mission," NASA officials said in a statement on October 3. "

According to the University of Arizona, the Arizona desert where the astronauts are going has thousands of extinct volcanoes and other geological features similar to the lunar environment. In fact, the Arizona desert has been the ultimate training ground for lunar exploration since the Apollo era.

The Apollo mission landed on the near side of the moon near the equator, while 55 years later, the Artemis program astronauts will land at the moon's south pole in search of water ice, which can provide drinking water and breathable air. Even (through electrolysis) into rocket fuel to maintain long-term human settlement on the moon.

The JETT3 experiment was conducted between October 4 and October 9, and astronauts Drew Feustel and Zena Cardman were asked to test after dark. The light and shadow of the moon's south pole are replicated by a spherical multifaceted "lighting vehicle" system, which can be seen in the image below.

In order to simulate the moon walk, the astronauts put on a spacesuit model and collected samples of Leigong rock (lunar soil). Their journey was analyzed by a scientific team and guided by a flight control team.

The Desert RATS (Research and Technology Research) test, which ends on October 22, conducts stress tests on lunar rovers to see if they can survive the planned Artemis 7 mission. If the early flight is successful, NASA plans to carry out the Artemis 7 manned mission to the moon in 2030.

Astronauts and engineers from NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will live in one of these rovers, which are like space saloons. The design, configuration and driving of the rover will be evaluated.

NASA stresses that simulation missions such as JETT3 and Desert RATS will help reduce the risk of future human missions to the moon.

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