As NASA prepares to return to the lunar surface, astronauts test tools and procedures as part of an elaborate simulation to prepare for future moonwalks
One recent October evening, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman strolled through a field of lava rock in a mockup spacesuit, her eyes set on the moon-like landscape. Cardman, a geobiologist, and fellow astronaut Drew Feustel were on a mission to collect rock samples near Arizona’s SP Crater, an 800-foot-tall cinder cone that formed during a volcanic eruption many millennia ago.
“It was actually remarkably difficult,” Cardman says. “Mission control is telling us: We’re pretty sure you should see a hill in front of you, and the valley will open again. And we’re like: Maybe! Do we keep going? … Is it in 20 feet, or half a mile?” “The main job of an analog is … to develop and test new hardware and new ways of doing things in a really cheap, safe environment compared to space,” says NASA astronaut Stan Love, who has participated in multiple such missions. “It’s super embarrassing if you swing your geologic hammer and crack your helmet faceplate. We don’t want that to happen!”Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
In a series of analog missions known as D-RATS, NASA tested how astronauts would operate a pressurized rover on the surface of the moon or Mars. This 3.3-ton concept roverSince the days of Apollo, science has become core to the U.S. astronaut program’s mission. On the International Space Station, for example, astronauts routinely run experiments, and flight operations staff allow scientists to communicate directly with astronauts in mid-mission.
So in mid-October, a team including NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and Japanese astronauts Akihiko Hoshide and Norishige Kanai participated in an analog mission called the Desert Research and Technology Studies, or Desert RATS . The trio of astronauts, as well as a team of engineers, lived for about a week in groups of two within a NASA test rover, driving around Black Point Lava Flow near SP Crater.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NASA needs a new moon car for off-roading astronauts at the lunar south poleThe contracting for the next moon buggy for Artemis has begun.
Read more »
Election 2022: How astronauts vote from spaceNASA astronaut Kate Rubins explained the process from orbit just before the 2020 election.
Read more »
Total lunar eclipse to be visible throughout Southland on TuesdayThis will be the last full lunar eclipse until March 2025, according to NASA.
Read more »
SCOTUS ignores Arizona inmate's appealThe justices declined to hear a case out of Arizona in which a man, Ramin Khorrami, challenged his conviction by an eight-member jury.
Read more »
Arizona county's plan to hand-count ballots blocked by judgeA judge has blocked a rural Arizona county's plan to hand-count all the ballots in this week’s election
Read more »