How NASA Is Solving The Moon's Tricky Lighting Problem For Artemis III Mission
As NASA gears up for its 2027 Artemis III mission, engineers and astronauts at Marshall Space Flight Center's Flat Floor Facility in Huntsville, Alabama, are meticulously simulating the extreme lighting conditions expected at the lunar South Pole, the target landing site for Artemis III. This seemingly simple exercise intends to shed light (ha-ha) on how astronauts experience extreme lighting conditions on the Moon. Simultaneously, astronauts are undergoing geological and operational training literally outdoors in the wild to prepare for the unique challenges of lunar exploration and observations.
As it is, the lunar South Pole is a visually complex environment. With the Sun perpetually at a low angle, vast stretches of the surface are plunged into deep, enduring shadows, while illuminated areas can be blindingly bright. This creates high-contrast conditions that could significantly impact an astronaut's ability to navigate, perform critical inspections, and identify geological features.
As it is, the lunar South Pole is a visually complex environment. With the Sun perpetually at a low angle, vast stretches of the surface are plunged into deep, enduring shadows, while illuminated areas can be blindingly bright. This creates high-contrast conditions that could significantly impact an astronaut's ability to navigate, perform critical inspections, and identify geological features.
At the Flat Floor Facility, engineers are using powerful 12- and 6-kilowatt lights in conjunction with low-fidelity mock-ups of the human lander, lunar surface, and rocks. Emma Jaynes, a test engineer at the facility, explained, "the goal is really to understand how shadows will affect lander visual inspection and assessment efforts throughout a future crewed mission."
The air-bearing floor at this facility—one of the largest, flattest, and most stable of its kind—which some liken to an inverted air hockey table, allows large mock-ups to be easily set up, enabling engineers to study shadow effects from multiple angles. The data collected from these testings help refine readiness models and evaluate tools astronauts will ultimately use on the Moon.
Meanwhile, future lunar explorers like NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Kate Rubins have been putting in work at Earth-based sites such as the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona. These analog missions serve as critical dress rehearsals for lunar surface operations. Astronauts practice navigating challenging terrain, collecting geological samples, and testing equipment in conditions that mimic the Moon's rugged landscape. This hands-on training ensures that the crew, along with ground support teams at Johnson Space Center, are fully integrated and prepared for the dynamic environment of a lunar mission.
The Artemis III mission, which aims to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon, represents a major step towards establishing a long-term human presence on our neighboring moon and perhaps paving the way for future missions to Mars.
