EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A professor at the University of Texas at El Paso is playing a key role in NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission, which aims to send astronauts to the moon this year.
NASA is set to make history by landing two astronauts on the moon’s south pole for the first time since the Apollo program in 1972. The weeklong mission aims to advance lunar exploration and scientific discovery.
While the absence of modern maps of the moon’s south pole poses a challenge, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey have created the Lunar Mapping Program (LMAP), which funds a team of scientists across the U.S. to map the moon.
Dr. Jose Hurtado, a geology professor at UTEP’s Department of Earth, Environmental, and Resource Sciences, is one of the scientists who has been helping to map the moon.
Speaking to KFOX14/CBS4 on Monday, Hurtado explained the importance of the maps to the mission.
“Making geologic maps is a critical step in answering scientific questions about the moon, as well as preparing for the logistics of lunar exploration,” Hurtado said.
He added that NASA is currently aiming to test the launch of its rocket, “We’ve got a rocket that’s on the launch pad right now and they’re testing it out.”
According to NASA, the hands-on test, called a “wet dress rehearsal,” involves filling up the rocket’s tanks with more than 700,000 gallons of super-chilled propellants.
Meanwhile, Hurtado has also expressed his pride in representing UTEP and El Paso alongside his NASA colleagues, saying he feels “super honored.”
So far, Hurtado has contributed to the mission’s simulations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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