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NASA Selects 2 Instruments for Artemis IV Lunar Surface Science
4 min read
NASA Selects 2 Instruments for Artemis IV Lunar Surface ScienceNASA has selected two science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during the Artemis IV mission to the lunar south polar region. The instruments will improve our knowledge of the lunar environment to support NASA’s further exploration of the Moon and beyond to Mars.
A visualization of the Moon’s South Pole region created with data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been surveying the Moon with seven instruments since 2009. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright
“The Apollo Era taught us that the further humanity is from Earth, the more dependent we are on science to protect and sustain human life on other planets,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By deploying these two science instruments on the lunar surface, our proving ground, NASA is leading the world in the creation of humanity’s interplanetary survival guide to ensure the health and safety of our spacecraft and human explorers as we begin our epic journey back to the Moon and onward to Mars.”
After his voyage to the Moon’s surface during Apollo 17, astronaut Gene Cernan acknowledged the challenge that lunar dust presents to long-term lunar exploration. Moon dust sticks to everything it touches and is very abrasive. The knowledge gained from the DUSTER (DUst and plaSma environmenT survEyoR) investigation will help mitigate hazards to human health and exploration. Consisting of a set of instruments mounted on a small autonomous rover, DUSTER will characterize dust and plasma around the landing site. These measurements will advance understanding of the Moon’s natural dust and plasma environment and how that environment responds to the human presence, including any disturbance during crew exploration activities and lander liftoff. The DUSTER instrument suite is led by Xu Wang of the University of Colorado Boulder. The contract is for $24.8 million over a period of three years.
A model of the DUSTER instrument suite consisting of the Electrostatic Dust Analyzer (EDA)—which will measure the charge, velocity, size, and flux of dust particles lofted from the lunar surface—and Relaxation SOunder and differentiaL VoltagE (RESOLVE)—which will characterize the average electron density above the lunar surface using plasma sounding. Both instruments will be housed on a Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover, which will be supplied by Lunar Outpost, a company based in Golden, Colorado, that develops and operates robotic systems for space exploration.LASP/CU Boulder/Lunar Outpost
Data from the SPSS (South Pole Seismic Station) will enable scientists to characterize the lunar interior structure to better understand the geologic processes that affect planetary bodies. The seismometer will help determine the current rate at which the Moon is struck by meteorite impacts, monitor the real-time seismic environment and how it can affect operations for astronauts, and determine properties of the Moon’s deep interior. The crew will additionally perform an active-source experiment using a “thumper” that creates seismic energy to survey the shallow structure around the landing site. The SPSS instrument is led by Mark Panning of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The award is for $25 million over a period of three years.
An artist’s concept of SPSS (South Pole Seismic Station) to be deployed by astronauts on the lunar surface.NASA/JPL-Caltech
“These two scientific investigations will be emplaced by human explorers on the Moon to achieve science goals that have been identified as strategically important by both NASA and the larger scientific community”, said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “We are excited to integrate these instrument teams into the Artemis IV Science Team.”
The two payloads were selected for further development to fly on Artemis IV; however, final manifesting decisions about the mission will be determined at a later date.
Through Artemis, NASA will address high priority science questions, focusing on those that are best accomplished by on-site human explorers on and around the Moon and by using the unique attributes of the lunar environment, aided by robotic surface and orbiting systems. The Artemis missions will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more information on Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Artemis
Planetary ScienceNASA’s planetary science program explores the objects in our solar system to better understand its history and the distribution of…
Earth’s MoonThe Moon makes Earth more livable, sets the rhythm of ocean tides, and keeps a record of our solar system’s…
Solar System
NASA Selects 2 Instruments for Artemis IV Lunar Surface Science
4 min read
NASA Selects 2 Instruments for Artemis IV Lunar Surface ScienceNASA has selected two science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during the Artemis IV mission to the lunar south polar region. The instruments will improve our knowledge of the lunar environment to support NASA’s further exploration of the Moon and beyond to Mars.
A visualization of the Moon’s South Pole region created with data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been surveying the Moon with seven instruments since 2009. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright“The Apollo Era taught us that the further humanity is from Earth, the more dependent we are on science to protect and sustain human life on other planets,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By deploying these two science instruments on the lunar surface, our proving ground, NASA is leading the world in the creation of humanity’s interplanetary survival guide to ensure the health and safety of our spacecraft and human explorers as we begin our epic journey back to the Moon and onward to Mars.”
After his voyage to the Moon’s surface during Apollo 17, astronaut Gene Cernan acknowledged the challenge that lunar dust presents to long-term lunar exploration. Moon dust sticks to everything it touches and is very abrasive. The knowledge gained from the DUSTER (DUst and plaSma environmenT survEyoR) investigation will help mitigate hazards to human health and exploration. Consisting of a set of instruments mounted on a small autonomous rover, DUSTER will characterize dust and plasma around the landing site. These measurements will advance understanding of the Moon’s natural dust and plasma environment and how that environment responds to the human presence, including any disturbance during crew exploration activities and lander liftoff. The DUSTER instrument suite is led by Xu Wang of the University of Colorado Boulder. The contract is for $24.8 million over a period of three years.
A model of the DUSTER instrument suite consisting of the Electrostatic Dust Analyzer (EDA)—which will measure the charge, velocity, size, and flux of dust particles lofted from the lunar surface—and Relaxation SOunder and differentiaL VoltagE (RESOLVE)—which will characterize the average electron density above the lunar surface using plasma sounding. Both instruments will be housed on a Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover, which will be supplied by Lunar Outpost, a company based in Golden, Colorado, that develops and operates robotic systems for space exploration.LASP/CU Boulder/Lunar OutpostData from the SPSS (South Pole Seismic Station) will enable scientists to characterize the lunar interior structure to better understand the geologic processes that affect planetary bodies. The seismometer will help determine the current rate at which the Moon is struck by meteorite impacts, monitor the real-time seismic environment and how it can affect operations for astronauts, and determine properties of the Moon’s deep interior. The crew will additionally perform an active-source experiment using a “thumper” that creates seismic energy to survey the shallow structure around the landing site. The SPSS instrument is led by Mark Panning of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The award is for $25 million over a period of three years.
An artist’s concept of SPSS (South Pole Seismic Station) to be deployed by astronauts on the lunar surface.NASA/JPL-Caltech“These two scientific investigations will be emplaced by human explorers on the Moon to achieve science goals that have been identified as strategically important by both NASA and the larger scientific community”, said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “We are excited to integrate these instrument teams into the Artemis IV Science Team.”
The two payloads were selected for further development to fly on Artemis IV; however, final manifesting decisions about the mission will be determined at a later date.
Through Artemis, NASA will address high priority science questions, focusing on those that are best accomplished by on-site human explorers on and around the Moon and by using the unique attributes of the lunar environment, aided by robotic surface and orbiting systems. The Artemis missions will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more information on Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Artemis
Planetary ScienceNASA’s planetary science program explores the objects in our solar system to better understand its history and the distribution of…
Earth’s MoonThe Moon makes Earth more livable, sets the rhythm of ocean tides, and keeps a record of our solar system’s…
Solar System
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NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Completed
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Completed
Two technicians look up at NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope after its inner and outer segments were connected at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland on Nov. 25, 2025. This marked the end of Roman’s construction. After final testing, the telescope will move to the launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations in summer 2026. Roman — named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer — is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026.
See more photos of the completed observatory.
Image credit: NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Completed
Two technicians look up at NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope after its inner and outer segments were connected at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland on Nov. 25, 2025. This marked the end of Roman’s construction. After final testing, the telescope will move to the launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations in summer 2026. Roman — named after Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer — is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026.
See more photos of the completed observatory.
Image credit: NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya
NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Jonny Kim, Crewmates Return
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, is preparing to depart the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft and return to Earth.
Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will undock from the station’s Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 8, headed for a parachute-assisted landing at 12:04 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9 (10:04 a.m. local time in Kazakhstan), on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of the crew’s return on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.
The space station change of command ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, on NASA+ and the agency’s YouTube channel. Rzyhikov will hand over station command to NASA astronaut Mike Fincke for Expedition 74, which begins at the time of Soyuz MS-27 undocking.
Kim and his crewmates are completing a 245-day mission aboard the station. At the conclusion of their mission, they will have orbited Earth 3,920 times and traveled nearly 104 million miles. This was the first flight for Kim and Zubritsky to the orbiting laboratory, while Ryzhikov is ending his third trip to space.
After landing, the three crew members will fly by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are based. Kim will board a NASA aircraft and return to Houston, while Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will depart for their training base in Star City, Russia.
NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Sunday, Dec. 7:
10:30 a.m. – Expedition 73/74 change of command ceremony begins on NASA+ Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
Monday, Dec. 8:
4:45 p.m. – Farewells and hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
5:10 p.m. – Hatch closing
8:15 p.m. – Undocking coverage beings on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
8:41 p.m. – Undocking
10:30 p.m. – Deorbit and landing coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
11:10 p.m. – Deorbit burn
Tuesday, Dec. 9:
12:04 a.m. – Landing
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Jonny Kim, Crewmates Return
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, is preparing to depart the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft and return to Earth.
Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will undock from the station’s Prichal module at 8:41 p.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 8, headed for a parachute-assisted landing at 12:04 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9 (10:04 a.m. local time in Kazakhstan), on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of the crew’s return on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.
The space station change of command ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, on NASA+ and the agency’s YouTube channel. Rzyhikov will hand over station command to NASA astronaut Mike Fincke for Expedition 74, which begins at the time of Soyuz MS-27 undocking.
Kim and his crewmates are completing a 245-day mission aboard the station. At the conclusion of their mission, they will have orbited Earth 3,920 times and traveled nearly 104 million miles. This was the first flight for Kim and Zubritsky to the orbiting laboratory, while Ryzhikov is ending his third trip to space.
After landing, the three crew members will fly by helicopter to Karaganda, Kazakhstan, where recovery teams are based. Kim will board a NASA aircraft and return to Houston, while Ryzhikov and Zubritsky will depart for their training base in Star City, Russia.
NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Sunday, Dec. 7:
10:30 a.m. – Expedition 73/74 change of command ceremony begins on NASA+ Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
Monday, Dec. 8:
4:45 p.m. – Farewells and hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
5:10 p.m. – Hatch closing
8:15 p.m. – Undocking coverage beings on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
8:41 p.m. – Undocking
10:30 p.m. – Deorbit and landing coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
11:10 p.m. – Deorbit burn
Tuesday, Dec. 9:
12:04 a.m. – Landing
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov