NASA is increasing its efforts to ensure the safety and accuracy of the Artemis III lunar landing through advanced lunar illumination simulations at its test facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The engineering team is replicating the extreme conditions of the lunar South Pole, where the next astronauts will land.
Preparing for the Artemis III lunar landing
At the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Flat Floor Facility, NASA technical teams use powerful 12- and 6-kilowatt light sources and physical mock-ups of a human lander, lunar surface and rocks. The sole objective is: to understand how shadows will affect the visibility and safety of maneuvers during landing.
The test facility, which operates with a surface similar to an inverted air field hockey table, allows heavy structures to be moved without friction, facilitating analysis from multiple angles. This provides valuable information about the light contrast that astronauts will experience when operating in a location where the Sun is kept at a permanent low angle.
The lunar South Pole is characterized by areas of deep shadow along with intensely illuminated areas. Such visual dynamics can make navigation and terrain assessment difficult. The tests evaluate how the light affects the colors, the visibility of the rocks and how the astronauts will have to adapt to operate in these conditions.
The white color can become blinding in direct sunlight, while the shadows behind a rock could stretch for meters and those behind a lander could stretch for kilometers.
Emma Jaynes, test engineer at the facility.
The NASA is collaborating with SpaceX for the development of the Starship human landing system, which will carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The illuminated simulations also help evaluate tools and procedures for the descent stage and surface activities.
With this detailed preparation, NASA seeks to reduce the risks associated with the visual environment and improve the responsiveness of the teams. The Artemis campaign marks humanity’s return to the Moon, and sets the stage for future missions to Mars.
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Source and photo: NASA
