NASA’s Artemis 2 mission launched on April 1 on a historic mission that will see a crew of four astronauts journey to the far side of the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 returned to Earth in December 1972.
The efforts of Artemis 2 crewmembers Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will test technologies vital to the success of the Artemis 4 moon landing, which is currently slated to launch in 2028. But where will NASA‘s first mission to the moon‘s surface in over five decades touch down, and will the landing site be visible from Earth?
Where could Artemis 4 land on the moon?
NASA’s potential Artemis landing sites, which include crater rims, plains and in some cases raised peaks that tower over the moonscape below, were picked for their scientific potential and accessibility, while also taking into account the future crew’s ability to communicate with Earth once on the ground.
“It offers access to some of the moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds,” Artemis lunar science lead Sarah Noble said in a 2024 press release. “Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”
Will the Artemis landing sites be visible from Earth?
The moon is tidally locked to Earth, which means that it takes almost exactly as long to complete a full rotation as it does to complete an orbit of our Blue Marble. As a result, we only ever see the same familiar face of our natural satellite.
However, a slight incline in its axis relative to Earth causes the moon to wobble slightly as it makes its way around our planet, allowing us to see slightly more than 50% of its surface. This gentle wobble, known as libration, dictates the extent of the moon’s south polar region that can be seen from Earth at any one time.
Even with favorable lunar libration, the extreme southerly latitude of the Artemis 4 landing sites means that we won’t get a clear view of them from Earth. However, if you know where to look, you may just catch a glimpse of the region that seems destined to play host to humanity’s first permanent moonbase.
Where is the lunar south pole?
Finding the lunar south pole isn’t always as simple as you would think, partially due to the fact that its orientation relative to the horizon is dependent on your latitude on Earth, according to the Planetary Society. In other words, the moon’s north pole isn’t always pointing directly “up” in the night sky.
During the waxing and waning phases surrounding a full moon, viewers in the northern hemisphere can find their way to the south polar region by identifying the line separating night from day, known as the terminator, and following it down to its lowest point.
Now that you’ve found the moon’s southerly latitudes, you can look out for specific geographical features to help you narrow in on the landing zones using a telescope with an aperture of 6 inches or more. Note that this is best attempted in the week surrounding the monthly full moon phase, when the majority of the lunar disk is illuminated by sunlight.
First, locate the 53-mile-wide (85-kilometer-wide) Tycho Crater. This prominent impact site dominates the southern hemisphere around the full moon phase by dint of its youthful brightness, towering central peak and vast network of “ejecta rays” — reflective streaks of debris that were thrown outward during its creation.
Next, trace an imaginary line south until you find the sprawling form of Clavius — one of the oldest and largest craters on the moon, which served as the location for the lunar base in the Stanley Kubrick movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Clavius can be recognized by dint of an arcing line of impact craters nestled within its 143-mile (230 km) expanse, along with the Porter and Rutherford impact sites, which overlap part of its northeastern and southeastern rim.
Our next step is the Moretus Crater, which is located close to the south polar region to the lower right of Clavius. Moretus, like Tycho, is recognizable by its prominent central peak, which rose as the crater floor rebounded inwards in the wake of the devastating asteroid strike that heralded its creation.
The Artemis 4 candidate landing sites are grouped around the south pole below Moretus at the extreme edge of the lunar disk, though only a glimpse of the most northerly sites such as Nobel Crater and Malapert Massif can be spotted when lunar libration is favorable.
What about during the full moon phase?
Of course, Artemis 2 launched on the night of a full moon — a time when the lunar disk is fully-lit by the sun, with no helpful shadows to guide us. During this phase, we can find our way to the south lunar pole with the help of two young, bright craters — Tycho and Copernicus.
First, find Copernicus shining brightly 10 degrees above the lunar equator, brightening the dark basaltic plains on the western lunar surface, and Tycho, which dominates the southern hemisphere of Earth’s natural satellite around the full moon phase. Both will be surrounded by streaks of bright, reflective material that were cast out during the violent asteroid impacts that formed the craters.
Next, draw an imaginary line from the western rim of Copernicus Crater through the right of Tycho, when you reach the edge of the moon, you will have found the general location of the lunar south pole.
Want to find out more about the Artemis program? Then be sure to read our detailed explainer article on NASA’s efforts to return humans to the moon and to stay tuned to our Artemis 2 live blog for regular updates on the first crewed mission to lunar space this century.
