21 August 2020
In 2024, NASA will launch the Artemis III mission to the Moon’s South Pole, the first human mission to the surface of the Moon in the 21st century. In preparation for this historic mission, NASA is now planning the science activities to be executed by the two-person crew.
The Planetary Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is forming a Science Definition Team (SDT) to develop the detailed science objectives to achieve the science goals that have already been released by the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) in the Artemis Science Plan. The SDT will base these science objectives on existing community documents, including the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) Roadmap, the Planetary Science Decadal Survey, the Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon (SCEM) report, and the final report of LEAG’s Advancing Science of the Moon Specific Action Team (ASM-SAT).
To aid the SDT, NASA is soliciting short white papers on the science to be accomplished with the Artemis III human crew. The landing site has not yet been selected but will be within 6 degrees of the South Pole. The two-member crew will conduct multiple walking excursions, enabling collection of lunar samples and the use of cameras and sensors, which could include portable instruments for use by astronauts, or deployed, standalone payloads. White papers should focus on the science objectives to be accomplished and not on instrument or technology development recommendations.
Interested parties can find supporting documentation for Human Landing Systems (HLS) on the NextSTEP HLS site, and HLS requirements in Attachment F of the HLS final announcement.
White papers must be submitted by 6p Eastern / 5p Central / 4p Mountain / 3p Pacific on 8 September 2020 via the USRA meeting portal.