Maryland-built NASA instrument will help prepare for astronauts' return to the moon

NASA eventually hopes to establish a long-term human presence on the moon through its Artemis program.

But before astronauts can build a base and live on the lunar surface, researchers need to better understand the moon's environment.

That's where a Maryland-built instrument called the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, or LEMS, comes in.

Constructed in Prince George's County, LEMS will collect critical data to help NASA determine where it is safest to establish a future lunar base.

How LEMS works

While the actual LEMS instrument is currently stored away, Dr. Mehdi Benna showed WJZ a high-quality model during a visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Wednesday.

Benna, a planetary scientist with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and NASA, described the instrument as a toolbox. He is also the project's lead.

"We're ready for the astronauts to take this to the moon," he said.

Once LEMS is deployed on the lunar surface, astronauts will remove two seismometers from its side and bury them beneath the surface.

The instruments will measure ground movements, including moonquakes, and transmit the data directly back to Earth.

That information will give researchers a better understanding of the moon's interior and geological activity.

"Once we get that data on the ground, we can actually decipher those little signatures and create an equivalent of an x-ray of the moon," Benna said.

Advancing the Artemis program

Future Artemis missions are expected to focus on establishing a permanent base of operations on the moon. Data collected by LEMS could help NASA identify the safest locations for astronauts to live and work.

"There is no flooding on the moon, there is no liquid, so we don't have to worry about that," Benna said. "But there is seismicity, so we want to make sure when we start building massive structures and habitat for these astronauts, that we build them in a safe region."

NASA hopes to have LEMS ready for the Artemis IV mission, which is expected to mark the return of humans to the moon's South Pole.

The last time scientists conducted this kind of lunar research was during the Apollo program decades ago. Benna said LEMS represents an opportunity for his generation of scientists to experience a similarly historic moment.

"I think I'm probably as excited as the NASA scientists were in 1969 when they were preparing for that first Apollo 11 landing," he said.

LEMS is a collaboration between UMBC, NASA and several other institutions, including the University of Arizona and Morehead State University.