# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CTiKtm-raEd
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15341784-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/6be7809f92.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-09-07T20:29:45.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

By combining Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter data with supercomputer modeling, scientists have created these high-resolution elevation maps of four potential #Artemis mission landing sites near the Moon’s South Pole. The color scale is in kilometers (km), and the pixel scale is 5 meters per pixel.

The South Pole presents both promise and challenge, most notably due to the region’s extreme lighting and temperature conditions. Permanently shadowed regions inside craters have temperatures reaching below -173°C (-280°F), making them “cold traps” for volatiles including water in the form of ice. Favorable illumination conditions are also important to ensure that there is enough sunlight available to power landed assets and infrastructure. Well-lit, tall peaks provide the right illumination conditions and some of the South Pole’s permanently shadowed regions lie near such peaks.

Figure credit: Michael Barker, nasagoddard 

#nasa #space #Moon #lunarsurface

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 6,809
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## Tags

lunarsurface, nasa, space, moon, artemis

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