As far as their work relates to NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission, which could begin in November, and other lunar missions in the coming years, the really exciting part What we can do here is use the International Space Station.” [ISS] As a test for future exploration.”
According to the space station, International Space Station research is preparing for a major leap in space flight and the return of man to the moon for the first time since 1972.
The unmanned Artemis 1 mission provides lunar orbit launch and landing as planned, NASA plans to send Artemis 2 around the moon with astronauts as soon as possible by 2024, and then Artemis 3 is expected to land on the surface in 2025 or so. .
Watkins explained that a large part of space station research is devoted to human health, and to developing technologies such as supporting life or growing plants to make sure they are strong enough to withstand the challenging environment of the Moon.
“We are looking at ways to guard against some of the risks associated with this exploration,” Watkins said. Plants have to deal with very different types of soil and weak gravity, for example, while plants and machinery need to deal with heavy soils. Radiation on the moon.
“Radiation is one of the biggest factors to mitigate as we go,” Watkins added, which is why Artemis 1 will have several sensors on the spacecraft to test and evaluate the environment.
Watkins also explained that placing the AstroRad radiation spacesuit in Earth orbit and lunar orbit around the same time allows scientists to compare astronauts’ exposure to radiation from the International Space Station to see how radiation travels across Earth’s ocean and beyond.