Artemis III EVA Opportunities on the Lunar Farside near Shackleton Crater

Abstract

A summit between Shackleton and Slater craters has an average solar illumination of 83%. The point, site 007 of [1] and NASA's Plan for Sustainable Lunar Exploration and Development, is on the farside of the Moon, beyond the south pole as seen from Earth (Fig. 1 & 2). Solar power at such sites may provide an important lunar surface resource if a distribution system can be developed. Adjacent to that point of illumination is a modest-size permanently shadowed region (PSR) in which water was detected from orbit [2]. Thus, the PSR may harbor icy regolith deposits, another resource, that may provide crew consumables, radiation shielding, and propellant.