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We may already have some of the tools needed for the next generation of space exploration. | Credit: NASA
With the Moon and Mars taking center stage in human spaceflight, scientists are using existing space missions to lay the groundwork for a sustainable human presence beyond the planet.
At a press briefing Dec. 17 at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Louisiana, researchers described how new findings from existing missions address practical exploration challenges, from identifying water resources on the Moon to protecting crews from harmful radiation and managing abrasive dust.
The scientific work discussed at the briefing comes as NASA prepares to resume human exploration. December 18 President Donald Trump signed a decree directing the agency to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028 and begin construction of the “early elements” of a permanent lunar base by 2030, while newly sworn in NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is leading the effort.
At the AGU briefing, scientists said they are helping support these ambitions by adapting tools and data sets originally developed for Earth to support future missions to the Moon and Mars.
For example, Gina DiBraccio, a heliophysicist and acting director of the Solar System Science Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, discussed a decision support tool originally designed to track space weather near Earth that has been expanded to include data from Mars missions, helping astronauts assess radiation risks from the surface of Mars in near real time.
dashboard Combines data from several Mars missions, including NASA's MAVEN orbiter and the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, with planned additional data sources, DiBraccio said. The project is envisioned as a universal display that astronauts can access on a tablet, allowing crews to monitor space weather events such as solar flares and determine whether protective measures are needed.
“This is really one of the first steps in creating tools that astronauts can use to understand and evaluate space weather from the surface of Mars,” DiBraccio said.
Other long-duration missions to Mars are also producing important data sets for understanding radiation hazards, scientists say.
Shannon Curry, principal investigator for MAVEN at CU Boulder, spoke about the recently completed project. catalog Martian space weather is compiled from now-silenced orbiter data covering the full solar cycle from 2014 to 2025. The catalog allows scientists to quantify levels of radiation in orbit—some of which may penetrate Mars' thin atmosphere and reach the surface—during periods of both low and high solar activity.
“It really provides information over a full solar cycle about what we can expect to see and when we can expect to see it,” Curry said.
Scientists also stressed the importance of identifying water resources on the Moon, especially near the Moon's south pole, where NASA plans to land astronauts as part of its Artemis program.
Four astronauts are selected for the Artemis 2 mission to the Moon. | Photo: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.
“The problem right now is that the data sets are not really consistent with where exactly the water is,” Bethany Ehlmann, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, told reporters during a briefing.
“In general terms, we know that it is at the south pole, and in general we know that there are few craters of interest there,” she said. “But that's like saying, 'There's water somewhere in New Orleans.'
New Imaging Spectrometer NASA selected in July can help clear up that uncertainty, she said. The device, which can be used in lunar orbit, is designed forimproved eyes“for astronauts and scientists by mapping water and minerals and identifying science-based locations to collect samples.
Another subject of the briefing was moon dusta constant problem during the Apollo era. Fine abrasive particles damaged space suits and equipment, and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt is known to have suffered the first recorded case extraterrestrial hay fever after exposure to lunar dust.
“I think dust is probably one of our biggest obstacles to a nominal operation on the Moon,” Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan. said during the post-mission report. “I think we can overcome other physiological, physical or mechanical problems besides dust.”
Scientists are now addressing this problem with new instruments and missions.
One of them, DUSTER (short for Dust and Plasma Environment Surveyor), was selected for NASA's Artemis IV mission. The $24.8 million project, led by Xu Wang of the University of Colorado Boulder, will deploy a suite of instruments on the rover to record the state of dust and plasma near the lunar surface and assess how they respond to human activity.
Another instrument the team is developing is the Compact Electrostatic Dust Analyzer (CEDA), designed to measure key properties of lunar dust, Wang said. The device is designed to operate both on the surface and on board an orbiting spacecraft. survive a hard landing regardless of orientation.
“Dust is everywhere on the moon,” Wang told reporters on Wednesday. “You can't get around it. You have to deal with it and live with it.”
Work is also underway to understand whether Mars is localized magnetic fields may provide astronomers with limited natural radiation protection. Initial modeling based on orbital observations suggests that crustal magnetic fields trapped in Martian rocks could provide protection over distances of several miles.
To map these regions in more detail, teams are working to further miniaturize magnetometers that could be mounted on aircraft, such as small drones like NASA's retired Ingenuity helicopterThis allows for much higher resolution imaging of the surface than is possible from orbit, according to Jared Espley, a NASA Goddard space scientist who is involved in the research.
The work highlights how robotic missions are decisively shaping the future of human exploration, the scientists say.
“This is not really about robotic or human research,” Ehlmann said. “This “and” is robotic And human exploration and how we do it best together.”
