The Artemis program will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon and develop a sustainable human presence on the Moon and set the stage for further human exploration of Mars. Those measurements can be used to determine the intensity and source of light over a number of years.Now NASA is gearing up to set up a permanent lunar presence on the Moon. VIIRS detects light reflected from Earth's surface and atmosphere in 22 different wavelengths and it is the first satellite instrument to take quantitative measurements of light emissions and reflections. NASA's "workhorse" on the project is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) weather satellite. However, new technology is improving the process. The team behind the photo must take into account the phases of the moon as well as "seasonal vegetation, clouds, aerosols, snow and ice cover, and even faint atmospheric emissions (such as airglow and auroras) change the way light is observed in different parts of the world." The last time NASA released a global map like this was in 2012, and the agency says these nighttime world maps are both a "gee-whiz curiosity for the public and a tool for fundamental research for nearly 25 years." Creating such an image is difficult and time consuming, as light on the planet is constantly shifting.
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