The heavily cratered surface area of the Moons South Pole. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
JETT3: Understanding Lunar South Pole Lighting Conditions for Moonwalks
JETT3 is the first in the series of missions. It will consist of 4 simulated moonwalks that follow operations prepared for Artemis III, the very first of the Artemis missions to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon. The main focus of this analog objective is to help NASA acquire an understanding of the requirements for the distinct lighting conditions at the lunar South Pole region.
The objective took place October 4-9 near the S P Crater, a cinder cone volcano situated about 25 miles (40 km) North of Flagstaff, Arizona. JETT3 is the final test in the 2022 JETT series, which is a broader mission-scale test to ensure effective surface operations and innovation development for Artemis III.
To replicate the proper lighting conditions, the JETT3 simulated moonwalks took place in the evening, utilizing a simulated sun to produce lighting and shadows in the field.
Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon. Credit: NASA
Two NASA astronauts, Drew Feustel and Zena Cardman, worked as the crewmembers for all 4 moonwalks and passed through within an approximate one-mile circle using mockup spacesuit systems. While wearing the mockups that replicate fully pressurized spacesuits, they utilized a variety of moonwalking strategies and tools to collect samples including raking, hammering, and coring.
A flight control group led the simulated moonwalks from the Mission Control Center at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and was signed up with by a science group that evaluated the astronauts simulated moonwalks in real-time.
At the end of every day and at the conclusion of the simulated mission, the science group, flight control team, crewmembers, and field professionals come together to go over and record lessons found out. NASA will take these lessons and use them to establishing innovations and planning operations for Artemis objectives.
D-RATS: Testing Pressurized Rovers
D-RATS will practice operations for future objectives beyond Artemis III and will consist of 3 objective runs set up for October 11-22 at Black Point Lava Flow, near S P Crater. This area was initially determined as a prospect lunar analog site throughout the Apollo era. The objective will primarily concentrate on carrying out pressurized rover operations, which is a crucial aspect of future Artemis missions starting with Artemis VII in 2030.
Pressurized rovers resemble recreational cars, commonly referred to as RVs, safely real estate astronauts for weeks at a time, complete with all the air, water, food, health devices, and tools they require on their trek throughout the lunar surface. Astronauts can live and work easily inside the rover, leaving the vehicle to collect samples or release experiments.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will join NASA for D-RATS as part of a research study arrangement that supports JAXAs capability to possibly provide a pressurized rover for Artemis. JAXA astronauts and engineers will have a chance to experience living and working from within NASAs model pressurized rover in an operational environment.
JAXA astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Norishige Kanai, and JAXA expert Naofumi Ikeda will sign up with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Stan Love and NASA engineer Sarah Shull, in driving a pressurized rover over the course of 3 days. Teams of 2 will rotate through living and running out of the pressurized rover, consisting of conducting simulated moonwalks.
Throughout D-RATS, NASA and JAXA will collect information about the pressurized rovers design, cabin configuration, driving modes, timeline constraints, and objective operations to support possible design principles for future pressurized rovers.
A team of NASA and JAXA flight researchers, astronauts, and controllers will lead the analog mission from the Mission Control. This group, together with crewmembers and field professionals, will work together to record data for possible innovation and operations advancement for a pressurized rover.
Through Artemis, NASA will land the very first lady and the very first person of color on the Moon, leading the way for a long-lasting, sustainable lunar existence and acting as a steppingstone for future astronaut objectives to Mars. Analog objectives assist prepare humans for the obstacles of deep space exploration and journeying further into the cosmos.
The approaching DRATS objective is a reboot of a program that carried out analog objectives from 1997-2012. They will practice mission situations for Artemis astronauts in a simulated lunar surface environment.
It will consist of 4 simulated moonwalks that follow operations planned for Artemis III, the very first of the Artemis objectives to land astronauts on the surface area of the Moon. D-RATS will practice operations for future objectives beyond Artemis III and will consist of three objective runs scheduled for October 11-22 at Black Point Lava Flow, near S P Crater. The mission will mostly focus on carrying out pressurized rover operations, which is a crucial component of future Artemis missions beginning with Artemis VII in 2030.
Astronaut Scott Tingle takes a more detailed look at rock developments at Black Point Lava Flow, Arizona during a simulated spacewalk on day 5 of NASAs Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) in 2011. The upcoming DRATS objective is a reboot of a program that performed analog missions from 1997-2012. Credit: NASA/Regan Geeseman
NASA is preparing for the Artemis age of research performed on the surface of the Moon. As part of the preparations, NASA is performing 2, multi-week field tests near Flagstaff, Arizona with astronauts, engineers, and researchers. They will practice objective situations for Artemis astronauts in a simulated lunar surface environment.
The Arizona desert possesses many qualities that are comparable to a lunar environment. These consist of difficult terrain, fascinating geology, and very little interactions infrastructure, all of which astronauts will experience near the lunar South Pole during Artemis objectives.
The Joint Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program Test Team (JETT) Field Test # 3 and Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) are the two analog objectives occurring in October 2022. They will offer vital information and lessons learned as groups conduct operations in a simulated lunar environment to practice for the genuine occasion.