Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
NASA
NASA/GSFC

Three years ago, NASA tossed a massive pallet of old batteries from the International Space Station (ISS), hoping that it would burn up through Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Webb ERO Production Team. Image processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb).
Carbon Mapper
Anil Menon
John Finney photography / Getty Images

As the Moon wedges itself between Earth and Sun, temporarily dimming the day’s light over parts of our planet, three rockets will take to the skies to observe how those brief moments of darkness affect Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The Artemis 3 astronauts will be the first to walk on the surface of the Moon in more than 50 years, unlocking a new era of lunar exploration. NASA has chosen just the right tools for the astronauts to use, designed to test the feasibility of a long-term human presence on the Moon.