According to NASA’s chief exploration scientist, Jacob Bleacher, “finding the right locations for this historic moment starts with identifying safe places for this first landing and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”
A crewed expedition has never ventured to the moon’s south pole, which has permanently obscured regions that potentially protect resources like water.
Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated that the south pole of the moon is an entirely different environment than the landing sites of the Apollo missions.
It provides access to frigid, shaded areas that might contain water and other substances, as well as some of the moon’s oldest terrain. We will be able to perform incredible science and uncover new information in any of these landing areas.
