BOULDER, Colo. — The United States is preparing to send its first science payload to land on the moon in more than 50 years.
The Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative from NASA aims to launch a lander to the moon's south pole in mid-February.
A NOVA-C lander will carry five NASA-funded scientific payloads to the moon, including an instrument called "Radio wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the photo Electron Sheath" (ROLSES).
University of Colorado Boulder astrophysicists are part of the team investigating the ROLSES data.
Data could help reveal the sheath of charged particles that lies just above the moon, potentially giving the lunar surface a small electrical charge like a sweater coming out of the dryer.
The CU Boulder team will collect the first measurements of the electrical charges that scientists suspect hover above the moon’s surface and could create hazards for future explorers.
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