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>> I, along with Drew Feustel,
am serving as a crew member
simulating a space walk
on the moon, so a moonwalk.
We are in northern Arizona.
We're on an area of Arizona
that was shaped by
a lot of volcanic activity,
and so we'll be walking around
on terrain that's really
quite similar to what we will
be seeing on the moon
when we get there.
Part of why we're here
at night is because
we're going for Artemis-3
and the Artemis missions
to the lunar south pole.
When we get there, much like
the south pole on the Earth,
we are going to experience
really high angle lighting
that creates these
really high-contrast areas,
really long shadows,
and so we're making sure
that, in addition
to our scientific goals,
we are going to be able
to navigate and see where
we want to be able to see.
How much lighting
do we really need?
Can we actually see
the geologic outcrops
that we want to be observing?
>> This mission
has been challenging.
Uh, there have been a lot
of physical challenges
for both, uh, Zena and I--
Zena Cardman, who is out here
with me on this test.
We've been working
in the dark, uh, so we have
very limited visibility,
and the dark is simulating
that south pole environment
on the lunar surface.
>> It's very important
to simulate
some of the emergencies
that could happen--
suit related emergencies,
other medical emergencies,
even comms emergencies,
because in an environment
like this where we have
this huge, open expanse,
we can understand the risks
of crew separation much better.
We can understand
what a walkback time means.
>> I think probably
the coolest thing
is-is bringing together
this, uh, large group
of, uh, subject matter experts
from different organizations
across NASA.
We've got people that represent
suits, tools,
we've got, uh,
flight operations.
>> I am most excited to see--
we have--
one of the brand new things
we're bringing to this test
is the science team
back in Houston,
so having them engaged
for the first time ever--
this is the first time
since the Apollo days
we've had a science team
engaged with human operations
that are, you know, simulating
a lunar surface exploration.
So, seeing the results
that came out of that
is kind of one of the most
exciting things, I think,
for this one.
>> I think we're all
learning something.
Not just us, but the teams
that are supporting
and helping understand
the ways that we can
do this better, more efficiently
and effectively in the future.
>> I'm really looking forward
to another era of exploration,
of going somewhere
where we don't know
what we're gonna find
and learning lessons
that we're gonna bring back
to Earth to help understand
not just our own planet,
but every other planet
in this solar system.
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