Astronauts train in the most moon-like place on Earth

This summer, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glove, Christina Koch, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and reserve members NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons traveled to Iceland to familiarize themselves with the rugged terrain of the Moon, Newsweek September 17 news.

This is the latest in a series of space missions that have had crews train in Iceland, dating back to the Apollo missions half a century ago. Iceland’s landscape is filled with lava fields, craters and barren rocky terrain that closely resembles the lunar surface. Even unusual rocks like basalt and breccia, which have been found on the moon, exist in Iceland due to its intense volcanic activity.

Iceland’s geology gives astronauts the opportunity to practice working in conditions similar to those on the Moon, and helps them practice identifying, collecting and recording rock samples using specially designed tools. The crew also practices navigation skills, spending time living and working together as they will in space.

“The instruments used on the Apollo missions were not modified much for the Artemis missions. Traditionally, a geologist would go out with a standard toolkit like a rock hammer, shovel, or scoop to sample the surrounding area, both above and below the surface,” said Trevor Graff, exploration geologist and chief of the Artemis science team’s hardware and testing team at NASA Johnson.

In 2022, during NASA’s Artemis I mission, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and unmanned Orion spacecraft successfully launched to the Moon, circled the celestial body, and returned to Earth.

Next up, Artemis II will be the first crewed mission of the Artemis program. The mission is expected to launch four astronauts into space on the Orion spacecraft, orbiting the Moon for 10 days before returning to Earth. Artemis II is expected to launch as early as September 2025, according to NASA.

The Artemis III mission will return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. Astronauts on the mission will land near the lunar south pole and spend about a week on scientific research. NASA expects the mission to launch as early as September 2026.