NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei recently participated in a critical training exercise in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, simulating lunar landing scenarios for the upcoming Artemis missions targeting the Moon's South Pole. The training, conducted on August 26, 2025, leveraged the rugged terrain of the Colorado Rockies due to its topographical similarities to the lunar South Pole, offering challenging conditions and visual complexities that mirror those astronauts will encounter.
This specialized course was developed in partnership with the Colorado Army National Guard at their High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (HAATS) near Gypsum, Colorado. The collaboration began in 2021, with Dominick and Vande Hei being among the 24th and 25th astronauts to evaluate the course's effectiveness for Artemis mission requirements. The HAATS facility is renowned for its expertise in high-altitude, power-management environmental training for military rotary-wing pilots, providing a realistic environment for complex flight operations.
The Artemis program aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon, with a significant focus on the South Pole, a region of high scientific interest due to the potential presence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters. This ice is considered a crucial resource for future deep-space endeavors, potentially supplying water, oxygen, and fuel. The Artemis III mission, currently slated for launch no earlier than mid-2027, intends to land the first humans near this polar region.
The Colorado training offers a unique, real-world element to astronaut preparation, allowing crews to experience unpredictable environmental factors such as dust and degraded visibility. These conditions are vital for developing robust decision-making skills under pressure. The insights gained from these exercises are foundational for refining operational strategies and ensuring crew readiness for the specific navigational challenges posed by the lunar South Pole's low sun angles and long shadows.
This training is part of NASA's broader strategy to prepare astronauts for the unique challenges of lunar exploration, which also includes utilizing various simulation technologies like virtual reality for tasks such as spacewalks and microgravity operations. The agency's commitment to crew safety and mission success is evident in these comprehensive and evolving training protocols, preparing NASA for its future lunar objectives.