By Aazam
The south pole of the moon is being practically explored by two NASA projects in Arizona
NASA is thinking beyond the crewed Artemis 2 mission to transport humans around the moon as it prepares to launch Artemis 1 on Nov. 14
NASA uses simulated moonwalks on Earth to train astronauts who may travel to the moon on Artemis 3 as early as 2025
According to the University of Arizona, thousands of extinct volcanoes and other lunar-like geological features await the astronauts
The Arizona environment can be used to create new lunar realms that will prepare explorers, according to NASA
A spherical, multi-sided "lighting cart" system duplicated the lunar south pole's light and shadows for Drew Feustel and Zena Cardman's moonwalk at night
Desert RATS, which ends Oct. 22, will test pressurized rovers for NASA's 2030 Artemis 7 mission
In order to prepare future joint moon trips between the two space agencies, NASA and JAXA have joined forces
Under the direction of mission control, astronauts and engineers from both NASA and JAXA will reside inside one of these rovers, which are comparable to space RVs
To demonstrate how durable the rovers are, their configuration, design, and driving will be assessed
These runs will lead them to the edge of the extinct volcano known as SP Crater through the Black Point Lava Flow, which is comparable to the ancient basaltic flows on the moon