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Understanding Lunar Landing: NASA’s Artemis and Its Groundbreaking Tests
NASA’s ambitious Artemis program is set to utilize human landing systems designed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, aiming to accurately and safely transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface. This endeavor is a pivotal step in paving the way for future manned explorations of Mars. However, as spacecraft descend and ascend on the Moon, the rocket exhaust plumes will interact with the upper layer of lunar “soil,” known as regolith. The engines, igniting to decelerate before landing, have the potential to disturb the area beneath them, possibly creating small craters and launching regolith particles into the air at high velocities.
To delve deeper into the dynamics of how these exhaust plumes will engage with the Moon’s surface, experts from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, conducted a series of rigorous tests. They recently fire-tested a 14-inch hybrid rocket motor over 30 times, focusing on understanding the physics of plume-surface interactions. This innovative motor, created through advanced 3D-printing techniques at Utah State University, combines solid fuel with gaseous oxygen for a robust propulsion output.
“Artemis is built upon the groundwork laid by the Apollo missions. However, there’s much more to learn about the interaction between larger spacecraft, like those planned for Artemis and future Mars missions, and the lunar surface,” stated Manish Mehta, the lead engineer for Human Landing System Plume & Aero Environments. He emphasized that firing a hybrid rocket motor into a simulated lunar regolith field, especially within a vacuum chamber, hasn’t been done in decades. The data obtained from these tests will be crucial for scaling up models to match flight conditions, enabling safer landings for astronauts during Artemis missions.
The Moon’s surface, shaped by billions of years of asteroid and micrometeoroid impacts, has resulted in regolith—fragments that vary in size from substantial rocks to fine dust. Different regions on the lunar surface exhibit diverse mineral compositions of regolith, affecting its density and structural support capabilities for landers.
Out of the 30 test firings at NASA Marshall’s Component Development Area, 28 occurred in vacuum conditions while two were performed at ambient pressure. This approach is crucial for ensuring that the hybrid motor functions reliably during subsequent plume-surface interaction tests scheduled for later this year in a 60-foot vacuum chamber at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
After completing the tests at Marshall, the hybrid motor will transition to NASA Langley, where it will again be ignited. This time, the tests will be conducted with simulated lunar regolith, specifically a material known as Black Point-1, in the vacuum sphere. Engineers plan to assess the size and formation of craters generated by the rocket exhaust and analyze how the simulated regolith particles behave upon impact from the exhaust plume.
“Bringing back the capability to evaluate the impact of rocket engines on the lunar surface through large vacuum chamber testing hasn’t been achieved since the Apollo and Viking programs,” noted Ashley Korzun, the principal investigator for the plume-surface interaction tests at NASA Langley. “With the Artemis landers being significantly larger and more powerful, new data is essential for comprehending the complex physics involved in both landing and ascent. Our research aims to mitigate risks associated with crewed operations, payloads, and surface structures.”
The Artemis program not only seeks to deepen scientific understanding of the Moon but also aims to unlock economic opportunities and lay the groundwork for the first human missions to Mars, providing insights and benefits for humanity as a whole.
For additional details regarding the Artemis initiative, please visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
Source
www.nasa.gov