New Report Identifies Four Moon Sites for Crewed Missions to Explore to Advance Scientific Discovery

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended four lunar sites for future crewed exploration: Bhabha Crater, Mons Hadley, the Orientale Basin, and the Aristarchus Plateau. The report says these locations will enable astronauts to investigate the moon's formation, test human habitation methods, and conduct groundbreaking astronomy research.

Bhabha Crater, the farthest site ever explored by humans, would provide access to the moon's oldest impact basin and enable far-side experiments shielded from Earth's radio interference. Mons Hadley, near the Apollo 15 landing site, would allow researchers to study 50-year-old hardware and biological materials while collecting new geological samples to inform NASA's Artemis program and future Mars missions.