Artemis Mission Paves the Way for Return to the Moon Says SMU Planetary Scientist Working with NASA

Matt Siegler, a research scientist at Southern Methodist University and the Planetary Science Institute who is participating in ongoing NASA missions, says the Artemis 1 launch could revive America's ability to get humans back to the Moon.

“Like Apollo, before we strap our best and brightest astronauts to the top of a rocket, we need to test it. So this launch will carry no people, but it will carry exact copies of all the systems we will need when they do go and instruments to make sure all is functioning as planned,” Siegler said.

“It will also carry scientific payloads, including several small satellites that will explore the Moon and beyond,” he said. “The Moon is a treasure trove of the history of the Solar System because things change so slowly there.”

Siegler is available for interviews.

NASA’s Artemis 1 launch is scheduled for Aug. 29. It is the first time since the Apollo mission in 1972 that NASA has sent a rocket to the Moon. 

Matt Siegler is participating in several new NASA missions that are making sophisticated temperature measurements from Mars and the Moon, and is a member of NASA’s InSight and Perseverance missions on Mars.