10 people selected for Artemis lunar surface science team

NASA has selected 10 participating scientists to support the Artemis program's exploration of the lunar surface. They will help astronauts establish scientific plans to be carried out on the lunar surface and are responsible for key tasks such as deploying scientific equipment, observing the landing site, and collecting moon rocks.

The list of selected scientists is as follows. Christine Bennett (Northern Arizona University), Alexandra Gauronska (Catholic University of America), Timothy Gloch (State University of New York at Stony Brook), Paul Hein (University of Colorado at Boulder), Erika Jarwin (Smithsonian Institution), Jeanette Luna (Tennessee Institute of Technology), Sabrina Martinez (NASA Johnson Space Center), Jamie Molaro (Planetary Science Institute), Hanna Sizemore (Planetary Science Institute), Catherine Weitz (Planetary Science Institute).

Scientific significance of lunar south pole exploration

This selection is a measure to maximize the scientific achievements of the Artemis program. “The selected scientists will bring their wealth of expertise to support astronauts on the lunar surface to achieve the mission’s science goals,” said Joel Kearns, associate administrator for the Exploration Directorate at NASA Headquarters.

On Artemis' first manned lunar mission, astronauts will land near the lunar south pole. This region is an extreme environment where dark craters with the potential for ice coexist with mountain peaks that are almost always illuminated by sunlight. Scientists will collect key data to address questions dating back to the Apollo era—including the history of lunar impacts and the location of shallow ice deposits.

The participating scientists join the first Artemis lunar surface science team led by Project Scientist Noah Petro at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Deputy Project Scientist Pardee Boyd at NASA Headquarters. They support the Artemis geology team, led by Brett Deneby of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and collaborate with the instrument deployment team and Artemis' internal science team.

A stepping stone toward Mars exploration

“The research these scientists will contribute before, during, and after missions will enable astronauts to make the most of every step they take on the lunar surface and learn as much as possible from this new era of human exploration,” said LaKisha Hawkins, acting associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Directorate.

The procedures developed and verified by the science team on the first Artemis manned landing mission will become the scientific operational framework for future high-level missions to explore deeper into the lunar surface and subsurface. Through Artemis, NASA is pursuing the goals of scientific discovery on the Moon, generating economic benefits, and establishing the foundation for manned exploration of Mars.