Future Astronauts Could Walk Across Rocks From Deep Inside the Moon

Future astronauts could walk across rocks from deep inside the Moon

A colossal ancient collision may have left some of the Moon’s deepest secrets surprisingly close to future Artemis landing sites. By recreating the impact that formed the giant South Pole-Aitken basin—the Moon’s largest and oldest crater—scientists found that a low-angle strike from a large, iron-cored object blasted material from deep inside the Moon, including mantle rocks.

What Awaits Artemis Moonwalkers at the Lunar South Pole?

New studies have helped identify what the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin has to offer – a massive impact structure on the Moon’s far side. Regions near SPA are also potential landing sites for NASA’s Artemis missions. Rare opportunity SPA is considered one of the Moon’s oldest surviving features, providing insight into the early […]

Artemis missions target South Pole–Aitken basin on the moon

View larger. | This globe map shows the South Pole-Aitken basin (blue) and surrounding regions. Here we see rocks from the moon’s mantle, the thick, rocky layer directly beneath its thin outer crust. The rocks were blasted onto the surface by the giant impact that created this huge moon basin. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ Goddard/ Gabe Gowman-U. Arizona/ SwRI. Data from NASA’s GRAIL mission and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Laser Altimeter…