NASA selects three lunar investigations and payload suites for CLPS

NASA has selected three new scientific investigations and payload suites. The selected payload suites will fly to the lunar surface using CLPS.

NASA selected three new scientific investigations and payload suites, and PRISM, a NASA program, selected payload suites.

The payload suites will fly using CLPS to the lunar surface, and they are part of the Moon Base Program.

CLPS is a NASA initiative that supports the Moon Base Program. The Moon Base Program is a NASA program described as humanity's first lunar outpost.

The payloads will address lunar resources, natural shelters and environmental hazards, and they support Artemis and Moon Base programs.

LEMS-SP is a long-term environmental and hazard monitoring station led by Dr. Mehdi Benna at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. It will study falling micrometeoroids and volatiles and carries a short-period seismometer.

GIMLI targets the Marius Hills Pit on the lunar surface and will scan beneath the lunar surface to study subterranean lava tubes and lunar volcanic processes. It is led by Dr. Nathaniel Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute.

DISCO will make the first direct on-the-ground measurements of ice in lunar micro-cold traps, study lunar surface behavior and ice distribution, and lay groundwork for lunar resource utilization and surface operations.

DISCO supports Moon Base surface operations and ice utilization. Its principal investigator is Dr. Ariel Deutsch of NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.

The selections put CLPS-delivered payloads on the lunar surface in support of Artemis and Moon Base programs. They focus on resources, shelters and hazards, which are relevant to lunar operations.

DISCO's ice measurements and lunar resource utilization groundwork, GIMLI's subsurface scanning, and LEMS-SP's hazard monitoring are tied to surface operations, ice utilization and hazard monitoring.

The payload suites will fly using CLPS to the lunar surface.