# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz4NOJiu0Hh
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/9997014-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/ace8827240.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-11-20T18:39:49.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

Landing on the Moon is tricky.⁣
 ⁣
When missions fly crew and payloads to the lunar surface, spacecraft control their descent by firing rocket engines to counteract the Moon’s gravitational pull. The engines blast supersonic plumes of hot gas toward the surface and the intense forces kick up dust and eject rocks at high speeds. This can cause hazards like visual obstructions and dust clouds that can interfere with navigation and science instrumentation.⁣
 ⁣
To improve its understanding of plume-surface interactions, NASA_Marshall researchers recently produced a simulation of the Apollo 12 lander engine plumes interacting with the surface and the predicted erosion that closely matched what happened during landing. This animation depicts the last half-minute of descent before engine cut-off, showing the predicted forces exerted by plumes on a flat computational surface. Here, the fluctuating radial patterns show the intensity of predicted shear stress, or the amount of sideways force applied over a set area. Lower shear stress is dark purple, and higher shear stress is yellow.⁣
 ⁣
New software tools are being used to predict cratering and visual obscuration on upcoming #Artemis missions and are helping NASA minimize risks to spacecraft and crew during future landed missions.⁣
⁣
Credit: Patrick Moran, NASAAmes Research Center/Andrew Weaver, NASA_Marshall Space Flight Center⁣
 ⁣
#LunarLanding #Apollo #NASA #Moon #Apollo12 #STEM #Computer #Simulation #NASAMarshall

## Stats

- **Views:** 22,591
- **Likes:** 13,900
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 119

## Tags

apollo12, apollo, nasa, stem, moon, computer, lunarlanding, artemis, simulation, nasamarshall

---
Copyright (c) Gondola