{"id":629706,"date":"2024-03-08T17:04:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T22:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?post_type=image-article&p=629706"},"modified":"2024-03-12T15:26:57","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T19:26:57","slug":"luxembourg-leaders-focus-on-lunar-exploration-at-visit-to-nasa-ames","status":"publish","type":"image-article","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/luxembourg-leaders-focus-on-lunar-exploration-at-visit-to-nasa-ames\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxembourg Leaders Focus on Lunar Exploration at Visit to NASA Ames"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?w=1280\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?resize=1200,800 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Using the Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center, a team created this simulated lunar environment to study lighting conditions experienced at the unexplored poles of the Moon.\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA\/Uland Wong<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The challenges of working on the surface of the Moon are at the center of a facility at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/the-lunar-lab-and-regolith-testbeds\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/the-lunar-lab-and-regolith-testbeds\/\">Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds<\/a> help scientists and engineers \u2013 from NASA and industry alike \u2013 study how well science instruments, robots, and people might be able to safely work, manipulate, navigate, and traverse the tough lunar terrain. On March 7, three visitors from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg \u2013 Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Minister of the Economy Lex Delles, and Ambassador to the United States Nicole Bintner \u2013 learned more about the work happening here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the visit, lunar rock and crater features crafted from lunar soil, or regolith, simulant were lit by harsh, low-angle illumination to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers-and-facilities\/ames\/the-dark-side-of-the-crater-how-light-looks-different-on-the-moon-and-what-nasa-is-doing-about-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simulate sunlight conditions<\/a> at the Moon\u2019s poles. Members of the <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/viper\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/viper\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VIPER<\/a> mission (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) discussed their work testing optical sensors at the lab for NASA\u2019s water-hunting Moon rover. Engineering versions of VIPER\u2019s hazard-avoidance cameras and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/humans-in-space\/viper-rover-will-get-driving-headlights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lighting system<\/a>, tested in the facility, were also on display. The lab is managed by NASA\u2019s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (<a href=\"https:\/\/sservi.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sservi.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\">SSERVI<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg 7146w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/acd24-0029-020.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Acting Deputy Center Director David Korsmeyer, left, Ames Center Director Eugene Tu, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg Minister of Economy Lex Delles, and Ambassador Nicole Bintner, right, meet at Ames on March 7, 2024.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA\/Brandon Torres<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Regolith Testbeds enable research applicable to places beyond our Moon as well, including Mercury, asteroids, and regolith-covered moons like Mars\u2019 Phobos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luxembourg was one of the first nations to sign the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/artemis-accords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Artemis Accords<\/a> and has taken steps to enable commercial space exploration. At Ames, the visitors learned about the center\u2019s support of NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/specials\/artemis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Artemis<\/a> exploration goals, including with VIPER, agency supercomputing resources, and the development of advanced tools for lunar operations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The challenges of working on the surface of the Moon are at the center of a facility at NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. The Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds help scientists and engineers \u2013 from NASA and industry alike \u2013 study how well science instruments, robots, and people might be able to [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":629708,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[]},"categories":[2854,2681,2655,2665,3800,10751],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[10477],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Luxembourg Leaders Focus on Lunar Exploration at Visit to NASA Ames","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/luxembourg-leaders-focus-on-lunar-exploration-at-visit-to-nasa-ames\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/luxembourg-leaders-focus-on-lunar-exploration-at-visit-to-nasa-ames\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg"},"articleSection":"NASA Centers & Facilities","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Abby Tabor"}],"creator":["Abby Tabor"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Missions","VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover)","Ames Research Center","Artemis","NASA Centers & Facilities","Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Inst."],"dateCreated":"2024-03-08T22:04:34Z","datePublished":"2024-03-08T22:04:34Z","dateModified":"2024-03-12T19:26:57Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"Luxembourg Leaders Focus on Lunar Exploration at Visit to NASA Ames\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/luxembourg-leaders-focus-on-lunar-exploration-at-visit-to-nasa-ames\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2024-03-08T22:04:34Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"NASA Centers & Facilities\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover),Ames Research Center,Artemis,NASA Centers & Facilities,Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Inst.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Abby Tabor\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":2,"featured_image":{"id":629708,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/lunartestbed-6116-wong.jpeg","title":"lunartestbed-6116-wong","alt":"","caption":"The Lunar Lab testbed at NASA Ames Research Center \u2013 a 12-foot-square sandbox containing eight tons of JSC-1A, a human-made lunar soil simulant. 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