In September 2026, NASA plans to land the first astronauts in 50 years on the Moon as part of the Artemis III mission. This is an extremely ambitious project that has involved a huge number of contractors and logistics. At the same time, future astronauts are preparing for the mission.
A curious cow that came to see the astronauts training as part of the Artemis III mission. Photo: NASA
Recently, astronauts Kate Rubins and Andre Douglas conducted several simulations of lunar walks in the Arizona desert. The photos published by NASA show the duo even meeting a cow.
Instead of wearing real heavy spacesuits, the astronauts use special mockups that restrict movement and weigh 32 kg. That is why in the pictures they look like they are dressed for a masquerade. That’s because the spacesuits used during the Apollo missions proved to be extremely uncomfortable to move in the low gravity of the Moon.
The teams also simulated sunsets and sunrises using a bright spotlight to recreate the conditions at the Moon’s south pole. “Low-light simulations like these show us how difficult it is for astronauts to navigate in the dark,” said NASA mineralogist Sheri Achilles.
The two astronauts were also tasked with collecting data on the simulated lunar rock and sending it to the team. During the Artemis III mission, the space agency plans to use the data collected by the lunar orbiter to provide astronauts with a detailed geological map.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done before the mission begins. No astronaut has ever piloted an Orion spacecraft. Also, SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft, which NASA plans to use to land on the lunar surface, is not yet ready.
Earlier, we reported that an American astronaut visited the training site of Ukrainian pilots.
According to NASA materials
