NASA Begins Moon Mission Plume-Surface Interaction Tests

NASA News says engineers at Langley Research Center have kicked off a new series of plume-surface interaction tests inside a sixty-foot vacuum chamber, recreating the blast of lunar lander engines against simulated moon dust. The campaign will test two propulsion systems, starting with an ethane-based simulator that generates about one hundred pounds of thrust, and later a hybrid rocket motor. Instruments will capture crater formation, ejecta angles, and particle speeds during brief six-second firings. The data is meant to improve predictive models and inform the design of future landers, including those for the Artemis program's return to the Moon in twenty twenty-eight. The setup is modular, so it can also be adapted to simulate Mars landings.

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