NASA has selected two science instruments for Artemis IV to study the Moon’s south polar region and aid future human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars.

DUSTER, a lunar dust and plasma environment surveyoR, will characterize dust and plasma around the landing site and assess hazards to health and exploration, delivered on the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform rover with a 24.8 million dollar, three-year contract led by Xu Wang at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The instrument suite will characterize the Moon’s dust, plasma, and seismic environment, quantify meteorite impact rates, and inform future surface operations and mission planning for lunar and Mars exploration.

SPSS, the South Pole Seismic Station, will study the Moon’s interior with seismometry and an active thumper for shallow structure surveys, led by Mark Panning at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, under a 25 million dollar three-year award.

Both investigations are designed to be deployed by Artemis IV astronauts and integrated into the mission’s science team, with final manifest decisions to be made later.

The instruments will be mounted on a small autonomous rover and deployed by astronauts during Artemis IV to address science goals identified as strategically important by NASA and the scientific community.