NASA Names Scientists to Support Lunar South Pole Science

NASA has selected 10 participating scientists to help develop a science plan for astronauts to carry out on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program – including deploying scientific instruments, making critical observations of the landing site and collecting lunar rocks.

“Congratulations to the scientists selected to participate in this important Artemis science team on the lunar surface,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington. “The selected scientists will bring a wealth of expertise to this team to ensure we support crews on the Moon to achieve the science objectives of the missions. Exploring the lunar surface and executing on U.S. science goals is a major step toward sustained operations on the Moon and preparation for human exploration of Mars.”

The selected scientists are:

• Kristen Bennett, Northern Arizona University Flagstaff
• Aleksandra Gawronska, Catholic University of America at Washington
• Timothy Glotch, State University of New York, Stony Brook
• Paul Hayne, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Erica Jawin, Smithsonian Institution in Washington
• Jeannette Luna, Tennessee Technological University Cookeville
• Sabrina Martinez, NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston
• Jamie Molaro, Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona
• Hanna Sizemore, Planetary Science Institute
• Catherine Weitz, Institute for Planetary Sciences

Participating scientists will join the first Artemis lunar surface science team, led by Noah Petro, project scientist, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Padi Boyd, deputy project scientist, at NASA Headquarters. In this role, they will support the first Artemis geology team, led by Brett Denevi of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The broader team also includes deployed instrument teams and the internal Artemis science team.

“Artemis enables the type of scientific work that will reshape our understanding of the Moon and open the door to discoveries we have only imagined,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “The work these scientists will contribute before, during and after the mission will help us make the most of every step astronauts take on the lunar surface and ensure we learn as much as possible from this new era of human exploration.”

During the mission, astronauts will land near the Moon’s south pole, an extreme landscape with dark craters that may contain ice and mountain peaks in near-constant lighting. Scientific research conducted during the first Artemis crewed lunar landing mission will provide critical data to support further exploration while delving into questions that have intrigued scientists since the Apollo era – such as the impact history of the Moon or the location of shallow ice deposits. Additionally, the processes that the science team is developing and testing during the first Artemis lunar mission will provide the framework for science operations on increasingly challenging missions to further explore the Moon’s surface and subsurface.

Selected participants will participate in pre-mission planning, science mission operations, and preparation of post-mission reports to answer these questions.

Through Artemis, NASA will address high-priority science questions in a golden age of exploration and discovery, focusing on those that human explorers have accomplished best on and around the Moon and utilizing the unique attributes of the lunar environment. The Artemis missions will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and lay the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

For more information on Artemis, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

Alise Fisher / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov