SEES Seminar: The return to the Moon --- with robots and humans, Prof. Gordon Osinski

We are pleased to be welcoming Prof. Osinski from the University of Western Ontario to our School. He has been hand-picked by NASA to train the next corps of lunar astronauts in geology.

Title: The return to the Moon — with robots and humans

Abstract: These are exciting times for lunar exploration. It has been 51 years since humans last walked on the surface of the Moon. But we are going back. Following the success of the Artemis I mission in late 2022, Artemis II is the next mission in the Artemis program and the precursor to sending humans back to the surface of the Moon. Scheduled to launch in late 2024, Artemis II will achieve several firsts: it will be the first time humans will fly in NASA's Orion spacecraft and the first mission to take humans beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. While not identical in design, Artemis II aims to achieve what Apollo 8 did in 1968, which is to make sure everything works before the next mission, Artemis III, that will take humans back to the surface of the Moon. In parallel to the human exploration of the Moon, a flotilla of robotic explorers will investigate the Moon from orbit and on the surface. During this talk I will discuss the scientific rationale for going back to the Moon, the geology training that I have been providing to Artemis astronauts, and my participation in NASA's Artemis III Geology Team that will support this historic mission.