NASA’s Evolving Vision for Artemis III
For many years, Artemis III was envisioned as NASA’s grand mission to return humanity to the Moon’s surface. However, recent developments have shifted that timeline, pushing the anticipated return to 2028, following the successful flyby of Artemis II in April. The revised Artemis III mission may not be as spectacular, but it remains crucial for the future of lunar exploration.
In 2027, NASA plans to conduct tests in low Earth orbit to ensure that the Orion capsule can safely rendezvous and operate with the lunar landing systems developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin before attempting similar maneuvers around the Moon. To delve deeper into what this mission entails, an interview was conducted with Dr. Barbara Cohen, a scientist involved in the Artemis III project. The discussion ranged from spacecraft architecture to the ongoing role of humans amidst increasingly capable robots and sensors, eventually tracing back to the Moon’s geological history that reveals a tumultuous era in the solar system, long erased from Earth’s surface.
The Crucial Pre-Landing Rehearsal
When asked what space enthusiasts not closely following the Artemis missions might expect from Artemis III, Dr. Cohen explained that this upcoming mission will primarily focus on activities in low Earth orbit. The Orion capsule will be launched with astronauts aboard, while both Blue Origin and SpaceX will send their lunar landing module prototypes into orbit. These vehicles will rendezvous with Orion to ensure compatibility and safety for future lunar missions.
According to Dr. Cohen, this mission serves as a crucial rehearsal before the actual lunar landing. It will not only test the spacecraft’s architecture for potential failures that could jeopardise future missions but also practice essential procedures for bringing lunar samples back to Earth. One of the significant challenges will be preserving these samples in optimal conditions during their return journey to ensure that no vital information is lost.
“One of the things we are doing in Artemis III is a kind of dry run for bringing samples back from the Moon,” noted Dr. Cohen. “Samples change as soon as they are removed from their natural environment. Our goal is to minimise these changes to allow scientists to study them effectively.”
To achieve this, crew members will deploy witness materials—small, clean pieces of aluminium foil, Teflon, and ceramic—of a size comparable to a quarter or a nickel. These materials will be exposed to the crew cabin environment throughout the flight, providing insights into how humans alter their surroundings.
The Role of Humans in Scientific Exploration
Recently, NASA released nearly one terabyte of data generated by the Artemis II crew, including information about lunar craters, detailed observations, and photographs of micrometeorite impacts on the Moon’s far side. This data release highlights an intriguing aspect of the Artemis programme: while science is a component of the missions, it is not their primary objective. Instead, the focus lies on exploration, technological development, and inspiring future generations, with scientific teams working within this framework to extract valuable insights.
Dr. Cohen clarified, “The Artemis missions, to be clear, are not scientific missions. They are exploration missions. We pursue them for technological development, inspiration, and various reasons, but we aim to maximise the scientific opportunities that arise.”
Artemis missions are equipped with advanced observational tools that were not available during the Apollo programme. With orbiters, cameras, sensors, and robotic systems capable of capturing the lunar surface in intricate detail, the role of astronauts remains essential in the scientific process.
“If your only goal is to take pictures, robots can do that,” Dr. Cohen remarked. “However, with Artemis missions, we aim to employ humans for what they excel at. Humans are exceptionally skilled at observing broad scenes, honing in on details, and interpreting what they see to inform the next steps.”
This human element was also a focus during Artemis II, which provided valuable lessons on crew training, connecting with scientists on Earth, and integrating observations into mission workflows. Dr. Cohen noted, “From a scientific standpoint, we learned significantly about how the crew wants to utilise their observational skills, how to train them in the science we want them to conduct, and how to engage them in observations. In Artemis II, our science officer communicated directly with the crew, a new approach we will carry into Artemis III and beyond.”
Unveiling Lunar Secrets
While Artemis III will not land astronauts on the lunar surface, the subsequent missions will face critical decisions regarding landing sites, observations, and sample collection. The most pressing questions centre around resource distribution in the lunar poles. However, Dr. Cohen is particularly interested in the fundamental question of why Earth lacks the scars that adorn the Moon.
“I have a personal opinion related to my scientific interest in understanding the ages of lunar craters,” she explained. “If you look at the Moon—whether through binoculars, a small telescope, or photographs—you’ll see it’s covered in craters. In fact, we say it is saturated, as each new crater forms atop an existing one. The entire surface is riddled with them, unlike Earth.”
Yet, Dr. Cohen emphasised that for every crater formed on the Moon, corresponding impacts also occurred on Earth. “In fact, Earth experiences more impacts than the Moon. However, we have significant water, and erosion on our continents. Our continents shift, subduct, and new land forms, all of which erase craters. We can no longer find that evidence here. To understand what struck Earth in the past, we will need to look to the Moon.”
Dr. Cohen referred to a very early stage of the solar system, approximately 4.5 to 4 billion years ago, when impacts were far more frequent, and the planetary neighbourhood was chaotic. “There was a period when we believe the solar system was very dynamic, with many impacts and substantial material moving around. Huge craters were formed, altering both the Moon and Earth,” she noted.
“As I mentioned, we no longer have that evidence because we do not possess rocks from that era. But understanding the extent of those alterations is crucial. Did we alter Earth multiple times? How did life begin? How did we obtain essential nutrients? How did material move through the solar system? That evidence is preserved on the Moon.”
Among these celestial traces is the South Pole-Aitken basin on the Moon’s far side, extending towards the polar region where future Artemis missions are expected to operate. “It would be my personal wish for humans to collect fragments from that massive basin, allowing us to understand when it formed, what it did to the Moon, and what was happening in the solar system at that time,” Dr. Cohen expressed.
Preparations for Future Lunar Endeavours
While Artemis III will not directly achieve this goal, it is tasked with demonstrating the vital yet less glamorous groundwork necessary for the programme’s future. It aims to ensure that the spacecraft, procedures, and human teams can work safely together before venturing to the Moon’s surface.
If the timeline remains intact, Artemis III will orbit the Earth in 2027, with the first lunar landing slated for 2028. The return to the Moon is being established through foundational missions, some of which, despite their lack of glamour, will prove essential for the success of future explorations.