NASA promises “exciting discovery” on the moon for the Artemis program

The American space agency NASA has released a big announcement about the moon for next week with possible plans for building a base on the lunar surface.

The “exciting new discovery” comes from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA): A Boeing 747 that has been modified for a 2.7-meter infrared telescope.

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By soaring into the atmosphere, SOFIA can study space without the same restrictions as ground-based telescopes and infrared-blocking water vapor.

NASA hasn’t said exactly what it will announce, but has hinted that it might have something to do with building a base on the moon.

“This new discovery adds to NASA’s efforts to learn about the moon in support of space exploration,” the agency said.

NASA’s Artemis program is currently planning to send another man and woman to the moon in 2024 to study the moon and see if it can provide a stopover between Earth and Mars before a person is supposed to land on it Red planet in the 2030s.

Humans have not landed on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist for the Directorate of Human Exploration and Operations Missions, will attend the briefing alongside Director of Astrophysics Paul Hertz, NASA postdoc Casey Honniball, and SOFIA project scientist Naseem Rangwala.

The audio of the announcement will be broadcast live on the NASA website starting Tuesday morning (AEDT) from around 3 a.m.

Originally published as “Exciting Discovery” on the moon