Lunar South Pole
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NASA
NASA Calls for Proposals to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies
NASA is seeking proposals to advance the technology and infrastructure needed to explore the Moon and establish a Moon Base in the lunar South Pole region. Announced on Tuesday, Sept. 8, the solicitation targets capability gaps, including power generation, oxygen extraction, and producing materials on the Moon required for construction and operations. These technologies are essential to making humanity’s next…
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NASA
Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds
Lee esta historia en español aquí. Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA scientists say. Published on Aug. 19, 2026, in Science Advances, these findings highlight a need to better understand microbial persistence in extreme lunar environments. As humans build…
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NASA
NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science
NASA has selected 10 participating scientists to help shape a science plan for astronauts to complete on the lunar surface under the Artemis program – including deploying scientific instruments, making critical observations of the landing site, and collecting Moon rocks. “Congratulations to the scientists selected to participate in this important Artemis lunar surface science team,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate…
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NASA
NASA’s Water-Hunting Tool Will Help Scout Moon’s South Pole
NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the Moon in support of future human exploration. The agency is providing a water-detecting instrument, the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), to the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). The instrument, which detects ice under the lunar surface, will be installed on LUPEX’s lunar rover planned to arrive at the Moon no earlier than 2028. NASA’s support of LUPEX is part of an ongoing effort to identify and…
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NASA
Harnessing the Sun to Extract Oxygen on the Moon
Light shines onto a solar concentrator being tested in this Aug. 7, 2025, photo. The concentrator is part of the Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project, which aims to produce oxygen from simulated lunar regolith for use at the Moon’s south pole. For this test, the team integrated the solar concentrator, mirrors, and software and confirmed the production of carbon monoxide. If…
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NASA
NASA Moon Mission Spacesuit Nears Milestone
The next-generation spacesuit for NASA’s Artemis III mission continues to advance by passing a contractor-led technical review, as the agency prepares to send humans to the Moon’s South Pole for the first time. Testing is also underway for the new suits, built by Axiom Space, with NASA astronauts and spacesuit engineers recently simulating surface operations and tasks underwater to demonstrate safety and…
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NASA
Castrol unveils a new documentary in collaboration with Lunar Outpost: a worldwide premiere at Space Center Houston
Castrol has unveiled Drive Me to the Moon, a fascinating ‘edutainment’ documentary created in collaboration with Colorado-based Lunar Outpost, a leader in planetary mobility and in-space infrastructure. The film provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the engineering and ingenuity required for next-generation mobility on the Moon. The film marks the culmination of a three-year collaboration between Castrol and Lunar Outpost on Lunar Voyage…
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NASA
I Am Artemis: Ethan Jacobs
High above the Rocky Mountains, Ethan Jacobs is helping NASA preparing to land people on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. NASA will send astronauts to the lunar South Pole during the Artemis III mission and beyond. As part of their journeys, crew will travel in a human landing system that will safely transport them from lunar…
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NASA
NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole
As part of the agency’s Artemis campaign, NASA has awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon’s South Pole region. NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect science data to…
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NASA
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
NASA has certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters, marking a key milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will explore the lunar South Pole, paving the way for human exploration farther into the solar system, including Mars. The mountains in northern Colorado offer similar visual illusions and flight environments to the…
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