Theme 1: Preparation for Exploration

As humans prepare to visit the Moon for the first time in decades, scientists around the globe are hard at work identifying the challenges that the next generation of explorers will face. Robotic reconnaissance of distant worlds provides valuable data, but this information is only as good as our ability to decode it. 

Space weather is a serious challenge in remote-sensing science. Processes like radiation and micrometeorite bombardment change the appearance of minerals and other materials over time. RISE2 scientists get up close and personal with space weather by rebuilding these conditions in the lab. Their simulated environments are important testing grounds for the tools that help us to see, and understand, the details of our solar system.

When we use telescopes and orbiters to scope out landscapes on the Moon and beyond, RISE2’s work will help us to tell exactly what we are looking at.