{"id":788162,"date":"2024-08-30T17:46:54","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T22:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788162"},"modified":"2024-08-30T17:46:54","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T22:46:54","slug":"artemis-ii-crew-refines-lunar-geology-skills-in-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=788162","title":{"rendered":"Artemis II crew refines lunar geology skills in Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The entire Artemis\u00a0II<\/abbr> crew, including CSA<\/abbr> and NASA<\/span> backups and NASA<\/span> geologist during geology field training in Iceland. (Credit: NASA<\/span>\/Robert Markowitz)<\/p>\n


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This time, the whole Artemis\u00a0II<\/abbr> crew, accompanied by flight control team members and instructors, expanded their expertise with hands-on experience in Vatnaj\u00f6kull National Park’s remote northern region. This area sits between 395 and 490\u00a0metres above sea level and is mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert. With over 30\u00a0active volcanic regions, Iceland was specifically chosen for its icy soils resembling those anticipated on the Moon’s south pole.<\/p>\n

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Located near the Arctic Circle, Iceland has a rocky landscape: more than 60% is composed of lava deserts and glaciers, with virtually no vegetation cover. Apollo astronauts, who travelled to several locations for geology training in the


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“I spent around 10\u00a0days exploring the volcanically active regions of Iceland, a place so stark and barren I felt as if I were already on the Moon. We were there in the summertime, and it seemed like the Sun never set.”<\/p>\n

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