Adding to the growing list of commercial delivery plans planned for more than a month under Artemis, NASA has selected two new scientific tool suits, including one that will study the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes for the first time.These payload suits mark the second option using Payloads and Survey of the Moon (PRISM) agency proposals application. Both payloads will be delivered on a monthly basis for future flights through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, which is part of a larger month-long spacecraft agency project planned for the decade.
“These two selected subjects will address important scientific questions related to the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy superintendent of investigations at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “The first one is to study the planetary orbits stored on the Moon, by investigating the rare form of volcanoes. The second will study the effects of gravity on the Moon and the nature of radiation in yeast, a model used to understand the response and repair of DNA damage. “
Lunar-VISE will explore the summit
The Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) investigation consists of a series of five tools, two of which will be installed in a fixed position and three mounted on a mobile rover that will be provided by the CLPS dealer as a service.Within 10 Days of the Earth (one day a month), Lunar-VISE will explore the summit of one of the Gruithuisen Domes. The houses are allegedly made of adhesive magma rich in silica, similar to the shape of a granite. On Earth, structures like this require a body of liquid water and plate tectonics to form, but apart from these essential ingredients on the Moon, moon scientists have been left wondering how these structures formed and evolved over time.
By analyzing the lunar regolith at the top of one of these houses, the data collected and retrieved of the Lunar-VISE tools will help scientists answer basic open questions about how this formation took place. The data will also help inform future robots of human robots and machines on the Moon. Drs. Kerri Donaldson Hanna of the University of Central Florida will lead this paid download program.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the moon
The second selected study, the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA) science suite, is a small CubeSat-based tool. LEIA will provide biological research to the Moon – which cannot be compared or repeated with high fidelity on Earth or the International Space Station – by bringing the yeast of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the moon and studying how it responds to radiation and gravity. S. cerevisiae is an important model for human biology, particularly in the genetic code, the processes of replication and cell division, and the response to DNA damage to natural factors such as radiation.
The data collected by LEIA, in conjunction with pre-existing data from other biological studies, can help scientists answer the decades-old question of how gravity is part and the radiation of the real deep in the compound influences biological processes. Drs. Andrew Settles of NASA’s Research Center in Silicon Valley, California will lead the LEIA payload suite.With these options in place, NASA will work with the CLPS office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to issue task orders to bring these pay points to the Moon during 2026.
In these paid loading suits, the agency also selected two project scientists to coordinate the scientific activities of selected tool rooms, including performance and paid responsibilities in selecting a destination, developing working concepts, and preserving scientific data acquired during site operations. Drs. John Karcz of the NASA Ames Research Center in California will coordinate the Lunar-VISE investigation for submission to Gruithuisen Domes, and Drs. Cindy Young of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will coordinate the LEIA investigation for submission.CLPS is an integral part of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration programs. The science and technology payments sent to the Moon area will help lay the foundation for human resources on the Moon and surrounding areas. The agency has presented seven task order awards to CLPS providers for monthly delivery in mid-early 2020 with the numerous delivery awards expected by 2028.
For more read: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-new-instruments-for-priority-artemis-science-on-moon
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