NASA’s recent study on the Moon’s South Pole revealed that some moonquakes and fault lines are also found at the lunar South Pole, which is the landing site of the Artemis 3 mission. These regions of moonquakes and faults are found both near and within the areas of the landing regions of the mission, which is set to launch in 2026.

“Our modelling suggests that shallow moonquakes capable of producing strong ground shaking in the South Polar Region are possible from slip events on existing faults or the formation of new thrust faults,” said Tom Watters of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, lead author of a paper on the research published January 25 in the Planetary Science Journal.

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“The global distribution of young thrust faults, their potential to be active, and the potential to form new thrust faults from ongoing global contraction should be considered when planning the location and stability of permanent outposts on the Moon.”

Chalking out these fault lines is important for the mission, to plan accordingly where to land the crewed spacecraft on the moon.&nbsp;

<h2>Fault lines and moonquakes detected near the Lunar South Pole</h2>

The detection of thousands of small and young thrust faults were detected near the South Pole with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).&nbsp;

The formation of the faults is usually accompanied by seismic activity in the form of shallow-depth moonquakes. Similar shallow moonquakes were also recorded by the Apollo Passive Seismic Network, a series of seismometers in the south-polar region.&nbsp;

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The strongest recorded shallow moonquake had an epicentre in the south-polar region.&nbsp;

The team also modelled the stability of surface slopes in the lunar South Polar Region and found that some areas are susceptible to regolith landslides from even light seismic shaking, including areas in some permanently shadowed regions. These areas are of interest due to the resources that might be found there, such as ice.

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As the date of the Artemis mission arrives closer, it becomes crucial for researchers to make sure that the surface on which the spacecraft lands is stable.

"As we get closer to the crewed Artemis mission’s launch date, it's important to keep our astronauts, our equipment and infrastructure as safe as possible," said Nicholas Schmerr, a geologist and one of the researchers, in a statement.&nbsp;

"This work is helping us prepare for what awaits us on the moon — whether that’s engineering structures that can better withstand lunar seismic activity or protecting people from really dangerous zones."

(With inputs from agencies)

NASA’s recent study on the Moon’s South Pole revealed that some moonquakes and fault lines are also found at the lunar South Pole, which is the landing site of the Artemis 3 mission.

NASA’s recent study on the Moon’s South Pole revealed that some moonquakes and fault lines are also found at the lunar South Pole, which is the landing site of the Artemis 3 mission. These regions of moonquakes and faults are found both near and within the areas of the landing regions of the mission, which is set to launch in 2026. “Our modelling suggests that shallow moonquakes capable of producing strong ground shaking in the South Polar Region are possible from slip events on existing faults or the formation of new thrust faults,” said Tom Watters of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, lead author of a paper on the research published January 25 in the Planetary Science Journal. Also Read | Tunnel found by archeologists looking for Cleopatra's tomb is a 'geometric miracle' “The global distribution of young thrust faults, their potential to be active, and the potential to form new thrust faults from ongoing global contraction should be considered when planning the location and stability of permanent outposts on the Moon.” Chalking out these fault lines is important for the mission, to plan accordingly where to land the crewed spacecraft on the moon. Fault lines and moonquakes detected near the Lunar South Pole The detection of thousands of small and young thrust faults were detected near the South Pole with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The formation of the faults is usually accompanied by seismic activity in the form of shallow-depth moonquakes. Similar shallow moonquakes were also recorded by the Apollo Passive Seismic Network, a series of seismometers in the south-polar region. Also Read | Japan's successful Moon landing was 'upside down', quite literally The strongest recorded shallow moonquake had an epicentre in the south-polar region. The team also modelled the stability of surface slopes in the lunar South Polar Region and found that some areas are susceptible to regolith landslides from even light seismic shaking, including areas in some permanently shadowed regions. These areas are of interest due to the resources that might be found there, such as ice. Also Read | NASA's Hubble Telescope finds water vapour in distant planet's atmosphere As the date of the Artemis mission arrives closer, it becomes crucial for researchers to make sure that the surface on which the spacecraft lands is stable. "As we get closer to the crewed Artemis mission’s launch date, it's important to keep our astronauts, our equipment and infrastructure as safe as possible," said Nicholas Schmerr, a geologist and one of the researchers, in a statement. "This work is helping us prepare for what awaits us on the moon — whether that’s engineering structures that can better withstand lunar seismic activity or protecting people from really dangerous zones." (With inputs from agencies)

Moonquakes and fault lines detected near lunar South Pole, which is also Artemis astronauts' landing site

NASA will face delays in its line-up for moon missions, as per a new report.

This came after Peregrine Mission One, the US’s first commercial launch to Moon was crippled mid-way due to a technical glitch.

The American space agency is facing hurdles in achieving its lunar goals this year due to technical complications, revealed people familiar with NASA’s plans in a Reuters report.

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Further details on the delays in the moon missions and future plans are expected to be announced by NASA on Tuesday.

NASA has already been tracking progress with its private partner’s part of the Artemis programme to consider changes to the multi-billion dollar mission.

With Artemis, the world will witness the first manned moon mission since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

<h2>Delays in NASA’s moon missions due to issues with private partners</h2>

NASA was in full swing for the launch of the Artemis-II mission, which was expected to launch in late 2024. But as Artemis’ spacecraft, Orion was found to have&nbsp;issues in its crew capsule’s batteries, the launch is expected to be delayed further than 2024.

The batteries of the Orion crew capsule,&nbsp;developed by Lockheed Martin,&nbsp;are in need of a replacement after it didn’t pass the vibration tests, as per the report.

This would have been the first flight with humans aboard after launching the capsule uncrewed atop NASA's Space Launch System in a 2022 inaugural test.

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Artemis-III on the other hand, was planned to be the first mission to land humans on the moon in late 2025. The touchdown for this mission was to be done using the Starship landing system from NASA contractor SpaceX. It is likely that this deadline will also be pushed back further as Elon Musk’s SpaceX is taking longer than expected to reach certain development milestones.&nbsp;

As of now, NASA hasn’t commented anything on the matter. Previously, we saw senior NASA officials denying moving the inaugural Artemis astronaut landing to the fourth mission, as it was thought to provide some more time for practice before making the first such landing in half a century.

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It is unclear what the new target dates for the initial Artemis mission would be as NASA’s Artemis program heavily depends on private companies.&nbsp;

<h2>Peregrine also abandoned the current mission</h2>

America’s first commercial launch to the Moon, Peregrine Mission One recently faced a technical issue midway after its launch. The snag emerged as a major blow to the hopes of the United States as it wanted to place its first robot on the lunar surface in five decades.&nbsp;

Peregrine Mission One's Lander was built by Astrobotic Technology and selected as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). It was launched on January 8 by United Launch Alliance (ULA) aboard Vulcan Centaur.

(With inputs from agencies)

NASA will face delays in its line-up for moon missions, as per a new report. This came after Peregrine Mission One, the US’s first commercial launch to Moon was crippled mid-way due to a technical glitch.

NASA will face delays in its line-up for moon missions, as per a new report. This came after Peregrine Mission One, the US’s first commercial launch to Moon was crippled mid-way due to a technical glitch. The American space agency is facing hurdles in achieving its lunar goals this year due to technical complications, revealed people familiar with NASA’s plans in a Reuters report. Also Read | NASA's Hubble Telescope captures a spectacular galactic collision Further details on the delays in the moon missions and future plans are expected to be announced by NASA on Tuesday. NASA has already been tracking progress with its private partner’s part of the Artemis programme to consider changes to the multi-billion dollar mission. With Artemis, the world will witness the first manned moon mission since the last Apollo mission in 1972. Delays in NASA’s moon missions due to issues with private partners NASA was in full swing for the launch of the Artemis-II mission, which was expected to launch in late 2024. But as Artemis’ spacecraft, Orion was found to have issues in its crew capsule’s batteries, the launch is expected to be delayed further than 2024. The batteries of the Orion crew capsule, developed by Lockheed Martin, are in need of a replacement after it didn’t pass the vibration tests, as per the report. This would have been the first flight with humans aboard after launching the capsule uncrewed atop NASA's Space Launch System in a 2022 inaugural test. Also Read | Cosmic alignment: Mercury, Venus and Mars to meet Moon on January 9 morning Artemis-III on the other hand, was planned to be the first mission to land humans on the moon in late 2025. The touchdown for this mission was to be done using the Starship landing system from NASA contractor SpaceX. It is likely that this deadline will also be pushed back further as Elon Musk’s SpaceX is taking longer than expected to reach certain development milestones. As of now, NASA hasn’t commented anything on the matter. Previously, we saw senior NASA officials denying moving the inaugural Artemis astronaut landing to the fourth mission, as it was thought to provide some more time for practice before making the first such landing in half a century. Also Read | 'Magic islands' on Saturn's moon Titan are nothing but Swiss-cheese-like snow clusters It is unclear what the new target dates for the initial Artemis mission would be as NASA’s Artemis program heavily depends on private companies. Peregrine also abandoned the current mission America’s first commercial launch to the Moon, Peregrine Mission One recently faced a technical issue midway after its launch. The snag emerged as a major blow to the hopes of the United States as it wanted to place its first robot on the lunar surface in five decades. Peregrine Mission One's Lander was built by Astrobotic Technology and selected as a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). It was launched on January 8 by United Launch Alliance (ULA) aboard Vulcan Centaur. (With inputs from agencies)

NASA's Artemis moon missions to face further delays due to spacecraft issues

Elon Musk's SpaceX will soon carry out its first test flight of 'Starship,' a rocket&nbsp;which, as per AFP, is touted as the company's most powerful rocket ever built and is designed to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond. The launch which is scheduled for Monday, as per a Reuters report, comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave it a green flag. The long-awaited license allowing the space vehicle to be launched into orbit was granted on Friday. It&nbsp;clears the way for the test flight that is crucial to&nbsp;SpaceX's goals in space.&nbsp;

The launch is monumental. SpaceX's Starship is the space capsule the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected for its Artemis III mission.

"Success maybe, excitement guaranteed!," tweeted billionaire Elon Musk late on Friday.

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Success maybe, excitement guaranteed! <a href="https://t.co/LoDrBmHkQa">https://t.co/LoDrBmHkQa</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1647023634899169281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In a statement, FAA said: "After a comprehensive licence evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements."

The licence&nbsp;is valid for five years.&nbsp;As per regulatory notices filed on Friday, the liftoff of SpaceX's most powerful rocket 'ever' can happen anytime from 5:30 am to 2 pm Central time on Monday.&nbsp;

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AFP pins the liftoff time at 7 am (1200 GMT) from the private space company's sprawling Texas base. It also reports that in case the attempt is postponed, fallback times are scheduled for later this week.

Starship consists of a reusable capsule that carries crew and cargo and the first-stage Super Heavy booster rocket. Slated for late 2025 at the earliest, the Artemis III mission will take humans to the lunar surface.

(With inputs from agencies) 
 
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Elon Musk's SpaceX will soon carry out its first test flight of 'Starship,' a rocket which, as per AFP, is touted as the company's most powerful rocket ever built and is designed to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond.

Elon Musk's SpaceX will soon carry out its first test flight of 'Starship,' a rocket which, as per AFP, is touted as the company's most powerful rocket ever built and is designed to ferry humans to the Moon and beyond. The launch which is scheduled for Monday, as per a Reuters report, comes after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave it a green flag. The long-awaited license allowing the space vehicle to be launched into orbit was granted on Friday. It clears the way for the test flight that is crucial to SpaceX's goals in space. The launch is monumental. SpaceX's Starship is the space capsule the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected for its Artemis III mission. "Success maybe, excitement guaranteed!," tweeted billionaire Elon Musk late on Friday. Success maybe, excitement guaranteed! https://t.co/LoDrBmHkQa — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2023 × Also read | Explained | Get the dope on JUICE, Europe’s mission to find aliens In a statement, FAA said: "After a comprehensive licence evaluation process, the FAA determined SpaceX met all safety, environmental, policy, payload, airspace integration and financial responsibility requirements." The licence is valid for five years. As per regulatory notices filed on Friday, the liftoff of SpaceX's most powerful rocket 'ever' can happen anytime from 5:30 am to 2 pm Central time on Monday. Also read | AI models like ChatGPT ‘drink’ an enormous volume of water, finds study AFP pins the liftoff time at 7 am (1200 GMT) from the private space company's sprawling Texas base. It also reports that in case the attempt is postponed, fallback times are scheduled for later this week. Starship consists of a reusable capsule that carries crew and cargo and the first-stage Super Heavy booster rocket. Slated for late 2025 at the earliest, the Artemis III mission will take humans to the lunar surface. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Up, Up, and Away!: Elon Musk’s SpaceX to try and launch ‘Starship,’ its most powerful rocket ever on Monday

Christina Koch has been named the mission specialist of NASA's Artemis III mission, whose success will designate her as the first woman to walk on the Moon. In the annals of recorded human history, Koch may potentially have a pre-fixture of herself whose walk down the lunar surface will leap across the gender barriers over five decades after a human first walked on the Moon. That first walk has often been criticised for being exclusionary because the phrase which came to define its success had men of one race becoming synonymous with humankind: 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'

But as a leap for humankind in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-moon-landing-sites-for-artemis-iii-mission-what-are-they-508583">2025</a>, NASA's Artemis-III will put the first woman (Christina Koch) and the first person of colour Victor Glover) on the Moon.&nbsp;<img alt="Christina Koch with Victor Glover, who will be the first man of colour on Moon" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5d8e2834-6535-4fea-a39e-8be6b972152f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2817%29_39.jpg" />

Christina Koch with Victor Glover, who will be the first man of colour on Moon | @Astro_Christina/Twitter

A NASA astronaut of the Class of 2013, Koch was born in Michigan and raised in North Carolina. She graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and then enrolled at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, from which she earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, in electrical engineering and physics (2001), and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering (2002). In December 2020, Koch was awarded an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree from her alma mater, North Carolina State University.

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Christina is also one of the two women-ever to have completed an all-female spacewalk along with another astronaut Jessica Meir in October 2019.

"Men’s physiology, perspectives, values, measurements, comfort and ambitions have mostly been the default template for designing major human endeavours," Mae Jemison, a former NASA astronaut, and the first African-American woman in space wrote in TIME magazine in a joint profile of Koch and Meir.&nbsp;

ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Artemis I Explained: NASA's first mission to land humans on the moon after 50 years

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Christina Koch has spent 328 consecutive days in microgravity in 2019 and 2020, setting the record for the longest duration in space for a woman during a single mission.&nbsp;

During that time, she worked on hundreds of experiments, including studies of protein crystals and plants in space. She participated in a number of studies to support future exploration missions, including research into how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-duration spaceflight, according to a NASA statement.

Koch has also served as station chief of the American Samoa Observatory and has contributed to the development of instruments used to study radiation particles for the Juno mission and the Van Allen Probe.

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Christina Koch has been named the mission specialist of NASA's Artemis III mission, whose success will designate her as the first woman to walk on the Moon. In the annals of recorded human history, Koch may potentially have a pre-fixture of herself whose walk down the lunar surface will leap across the gender barriers over five decades after a human first walked on the Moon.

Christina Koch has been named the mission specialist of NASA's Artemis III mission, whose success will designate her as the first woman to walk on the Moon. In the annals of recorded human history, Koch may potentially have a pre-fixture of herself whose walk down the lunar surface will leap across the gender barriers over five decades after a human first walked on the Moon. That first walk has often been criticised for being exclusionary because the phrase which came to define its success had men of one race becoming synonymous with humankind: 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' But as a leap for humankind in 2025, NASA's Artemis-III will put the first woman (Christina Koch) and the first person of colour Victor Glover) on the Moon. Christina Koch with Victor Glover, who will be the first man of colour on Moon | @Astro_Christina/Twitter A NASA astronaut of the Class of 2013, Koch was born in Michigan and raised in North Carolina. She graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and then enrolled at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, from which she earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, in electrical engineering and physics (2001), and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering (2002). In December 2020, Koch was awarded an honorary Doctor of Sciences degree from her alma mater, North Carolina State University. ALSO READ | Explained: NASA unveils Artemis 2 astronauts. Here's all about the moon mission Christina is also one of the two women-ever to have completed an all-female spacewalk along with another astronaut Jessica Meir in October 2019. "Men’s physiology, perspectives, values, measurements, comfort and ambitions have mostly been the default template for designing major human endeavours," Mae Jemison, a former NASA astronaut, and the first African-American woman in space wrote in TIME magazine in a joint profile of Koch and Meir. ALSO WATCH | Artemis I Explained: NASA's first mission to land humans on the moon after 50 years × Christina Koch has spent 328 consecutive days in microgravity in 2019 and 2020, setting the record for the longest duration in space for a woman during a single mission. During that time, she worked on hundreds of experiments, including studies of protein crystals and plants in space. She participated in a number of studies to support future exploration missions, including research into how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation, and the stress of long-duration spaceflight, according to a NASA statement. Koch has also served as station chief of the American Samoa Observatory and has contributed to the development of instruments used to study radiation particles for the Juno mission and the Van Allen Probe. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Who is Christina Koch? NASA astronaut set for womankind's giant leap