The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning a dangerous but interesting experiment on the lunar surface to determine possible scenarios in the event of a problem during future lunar missions.
The US space agency plans to light a fire on the Moon to see how the flame reacts in low-gravity environments.
Fire is one of the most terrifying threats astronauts could face on their future lunar missions, because materials that are not flammable on Earth can actually burn for a very long time in space.
For the experiment planned later this year, four fuel samples will be sent to the Moon in an uncrewed Lunar Commercial Payload Service (CLPS). These samples will then be ignited when sensors and cameras detect how much oxygen they consume and how the flame spreads.
The experiment comes as NASA plans to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo mission about 50 years ago. The Artemis IV mission is expected to return humans to the Moon by 2028.
However, a recent report suggested that a delay in spacesuit development could cause the Artemis IV mission to be delayed by around three years.
Currently, NASA is using a NASA-STD-6001B test to determine whether the materials can be used safely in lunar missions. The test applies a six-inch flame to the bottom of a material; it fails if the flame spreads more than six inches upward or if it produces burning drops.
However, the limitation of this test is that it does not actually reveal how a specific material might burn in space.
Flammability of Materials on the Moon (FM) will mark the first time such a test has been carried out in space.
