The nine potential landing sites being considered for the upcoming crewed lunar landing of Artemis 3 are shown in this composite of images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/GSFC
It’s been 52 years since Apollo 17 lifted off from the Taurus-Littrow Valley on the Moon. All of the Apollo landing sites, starting with Tranquility Sea Base on the Moon, have been immortalized in print and film and are well known to space enthusiasts around the world. But soon, another name will be added to the exclusive list of manned landing sites on the Moon. On October 28, 2024, NASA announced nine locations near the Moon’s south pole that are being evaluated as potential landing sites for the Artemis 3 crewed lunar landing mission, which will likely fly in 2028. The list marks a refinement of a previous list of 13 locations announced in 2022.
All nine Artemis landing sites are located in a mountainous, crater-filled region surrounding the lunar south pole, measuring 340 by 180 kilometers in diameter. (This is roughly the same as the Mare Cognitum area located in the center of the visible western side of the Moon.) What differentiates the topography of the polar region from previous Apollo landing sites is that many of the target areas are located on land which are some of The Moon is the highest in elevation. The six Apollo landing sites were clustered near the equatorial region and covered elevations ranging from Apollo 16 at the mean lunar elevation — or “sea level” on the Moon — to the Apollo 17 site at 9,000 feet (2,700 meters ) below the mean lunar elevation. The Artemis sites, however, reach 5,000 m altitude. While it’s not as dramatic as saying Apollo landed in Death Valley while Artemis will land on Mount Everest, there is a similarity.
“The Moon’s south pole is a completely different environment than the one we landed in during the Apollo missions,” Sarah Noble, NASA’s Artemis lunar science manager, said in a statement. “It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cool, shaded regions that may contain water and other compounds. Each of these landing regions will allow us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”
Data and imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the last half-century of scientific research on the moon aided in the selection of the landing site. However, terrain alone did not guide the choice of landing site. The current design capabilities of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) were taken into account to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.
The final landing site for Artemis 3 will be chosen based on factors including scientific potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability and whether the site will be capable of being in constant communication with Earth. Another key safety issue will be lighting conditions on the surface as Artemis astronauts traverse and set up experiments on the ground. Since the Sun will never rise more than a few degrees above the horizon near the south pole, it will cast long shadows. They will be deeper and darker than shadows on Earth since the Moon does not have an atmosphere to scatter light into shadowed areas. A dark pit in front of an astronaut could be a benign depression only a few centimeters deep, or it could be a deep, dangerous hole capable of injuring an astronaut or severely damaging spacesuit systems.
The nine locations, not listed in any priority, are:
Peak near Cabeus B: This territory rises six kilometers over a 30 kilometer expanse, changing altitude from 9,500 feet (2,900 m) below to 12,600 feet (3,850 m) above mean lunar level. This site is located 125 miles (200 km) from the south pole and is the furthest from the true pole.
Haworth: This site features a peak rising from –9,500 feet (–2,900 meters) to 5,400 feet (1,650 m) and provides a location with perpetual sunlight.
Malapert Massif: A broad region that rises 5,000 m (16,400 ft) and provides perpetual sunlight, but also descends 8,000 m (26,250 ft) poleward into permanently shaded regions.
Mons Mouton plateau: The largest and overall flattest of the Artemis sites, ranging in elevation from 5,000 to 6,000 m (16,400 ft to 19,700 ft) over an extent of 60 km (37 mi). The plateau is high enough to receive perpetual sunlight and wide enough to allow for extensive exploration with Artemis 4 and 5, including a long-range rover planned for the latter mission.
Bishop Mouton: A peak that rises to 6,000 m (19,700 ft), then drops to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) towards the south pole.
Noble Circle 1: This site is located on the southwestern edge of Noble Crater, which rises to 3,000 m (9,800 ft).
Noble Edge 2: This site on the northeastern edge of Noble Crater is located at –4,600 feet (–1,400 m), the second lowest elevation of the Artemis sites.
de Gerlache Rim 2: This site is the closest to the pole, located just 31 miles (50 km) from the lunar south pole and rises 9,800 feet (3,000 m) above the surrounding land.
Plain Slater: The lowest elevation of the Artemis sites with rolling hills sloping east to west from 5,900 feet to –1,000 feet (–1,800 m to –300 m).
The new frontier of the Moon
In choosing the landing site, Artemis designers will prioritize safety, but will also look for opportunities for new and unique science. Each of the nine regions was evaluated by the Artemis 3 geology team for its scientific potential to provide new insights into understanding the inner planets, lunar resources and the history of our solar system.
“Artemis 3 will be the first time astronauts land in the south polar region of the Moon,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “They will fly a new lander over unique terrain compared to our past Apollo experience. The search for the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe locations for this first landing, and then matching them with the opportunities for science coming from this new place on the Moon.”
Artemis lunar landers will need to precisely navigate to these possible Artemis landing sites. Some of them, such as the edges of the de Gerlache and Nobile craters, are narrow and have slopes not suitable for a stable landing. Precise lunar landing technology was demonstrated by subsequent Apollo missions.
Still to be determined, however, is the seismic stability of the polar regions. Recent studies have suggested that the south polar region could be prone to earthquakes that could threaten the stability of the tall, monument-like starship HLS. Upcoming robotic missions to the Moon under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program will investigate the stability of the region and validate candidate sites for Artemis or force a reevaluation. If the region proves stable, one of the nine chosen regions will within a few years host the next human footprints on the Moon, including the first woman on the Moon and the first non-American moonwalker.
