NASA’s Artemis to take humans to Moon’s South Pole for first time; 9 landing sites revealed in big update

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aims to reach the Moon’s less-explored South Pole with its Artemis III mission. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is a key partner of the NASA for this Moon landing mission which is likely to be launched in 2026. In a major updated on Monday, the NASA revealed nine potential landing sites for Artemis III mission.

Before delving into the nine potential sites, here’s a quick recap about NASA”s Artemis III mission:

Last year, India became the first country to land a spacecraft (Chandrayaan-3 mission) in the moon’s south polar region. The NASA’s Artemis III mission, which also aims to reach the lunar south pole, comes with a big twist – that Artemis III will carry humans/astronauts to the Moon’s south polar region for the first time.

“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist.

Artemis III: Many firsts to look out for

Artemis III will be NASA’s first crewed Moon landing mission in more than five decades. This will also be the first time humans will reach the lunar South Pole. No humans have ever gone to the lunar south pole before. Artemis III is planned to take off in 2026.

“NASA will make history by sending the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole,” the US spave agency said.

In the past, the US space agency took astronauts to the Moon and brought them back during Apollo missions. Astronauts Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon during Apollo 11 mission.

What distinguishes Apollo and Artemis III mission? One of the differences is: “The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA and its partners also aim to land the first woman and first person of color on the surface of the Moon with the Artemis programme.

In February this year, Odysseus, an uncrewed robot lander, touched down near the lunar south pole at around 23:23 GMT. This landing marked the US’ first lunar landing since Apollo 17. It was also the first landing as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to expand the lunar economy to support future crewed Artemis missions.

Breakthrough in Artemis III mission: The 9 candidates

Where on the Moon will Artemis III astronauts land? NASA said it is refining a list of nine areas near the lunar South Pole, “a place we’ve never set foot on before”. The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority order:

1. Peak near Cabeus B
2. Haworth
3. Malapert Massif
4. Mons Mouton Plateau
5. Mons Mouton
6. Nobile Rim 1
7. Nobile Rim 2
8. de Gerlache Rim 2
9. Slater Plain

As per the NASA, these nine regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability.

“Sites within each of the nine identified regions have the potential to provide key new insights into our understanding of rocky planets, lunar resources, and the history of our solar system,” it explained.

The agency will select sites within regions for Artemis III after it identifies the mission’s target launch dates, which dictate transfer trajectories, or orbital paths, and surface environment conditions.

The Moon’s south pole is the new frontier for lunar exploration mission. NASA said a crewed mission has never explored the lunar South Pole and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.

According to reports, China revealed earlier that it plans to develop a moon base at the lunar south pole, which will be rolled out in two distinct phases, eventually creating a series of nodes on the lunar surface and in orbit.