A moon mountain close to the world's southern pole has been named after a NASA computer programmer and is one of the landing area candidates for the Artemis III mission.
Mons Mouton: Behind Its Name
According to Live Science, the moon mountain towers at a height of 20,000 feet. It has also been named after NASA computer scientist Melba Roy Mouton.
As she worked for 14 years with NASA, Mouton was a recipient of the Apollo Achievement Award for her role in the successful moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. She was also one of NASA's pioneering leaders who did not just help in leading explorations of uncertainty but also led the way for women as well as people of color to pursue careers and science at NASA. Other than this, Mouton also oversaw the team that was monitoring the Echo 1 and 2 satellites that were deployed to earth's orbit around 60 years ago.
In honor of Mouton's great contributions, members of the VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission suggested naming this huge moon mountain Mons Mouton.
VIPER Mission
Live Science reports that VIPER is the first mission that is scheduled to map out resources beyond earth. It is also scheduled to reach the Nobile Crater's western ring, located adjacent to the Mons Mouton mountain, for an expedition in 2024 that is set to last a hundred days.
According to Space, the VIPER is one of the recipients of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), which aims to offer a set of scientific payloads and robots towards the moon's service that may help Artemis missions.
'Mons Mouton': Moon Mountain
Mons Mouton is as tall as North America's highest peak, Denali. Moreover, its base has a ring of large and gaping craters. These are perceived to be ancient meteorite relics.
The mountain appears to be unharmed by the turbulent history of the region. This suggests that it may have been there for billions of years before the landscape that surrounds it. The plateau is dabbed with pebbles, rocks, and craters.
According to Sarah Noble, who serves as a program scientist for VIPER at the headquarters of NASA, Mons Mouton is an ideal VIPER spot. It has spots that are highly sunny. Moreover, the mountain is quite flat. Data from satellites also shows that there are signs of the presence of water ice. Not to mention, it also enables long communication stretches with the station on earth.
Mons Mouton is one of 13 different landing area candidates for the Artemis III mission of NASA. The series of Artemis missions generally aims to send astronauts back to the moon. The people to be sent include the first woman and person of color to step on the moon's surface.
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