Image of the Earth seen from the Moon's south pole

NASA hopes astronauts will be able to see Earth first-hand from the Moon's poles by the end of the 2020s.

 (Video: NASA)

NASA's science graphics studio at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland shared a short video simulating a view from the Moon's south pole over three months. During that time, the Earth rose and fell several times while the brilliant Sun moved across the horizon. Even the Earth passes in front and obscures the Sun, in contrast to the lunar eclipse we see from the ground.

"For an observer on Earth, this is a lunar eclipse, in which the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow. However, viewed from the Moon, it is a solar eclipse," NASA said.

Simulation of Earth observed from the Moon's south pole.

The virtual camera in the graphic is located on the Shackleton crater rim , partially appearing in the lower right corner of the frame. This is the area that NASA targeted during the Artemis Moon landing mission. The agency hopes to be able to bring astronauts to the surface by the end of the 2020s. A series of mission-supporting rovers under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program could fly to the Moon early this year. 2022.

NASA's Artemis 1 unmanned mission will fly around the Moon and return to Earth, scheduled to launch in February 2022. This mission has been delayed several times due to technical issues. The next mission, Artemis 2, will carry a Canadian astronaut around the Moon in 2023. NASA hopes the Moon landing mission Artemis 3 can take place in 2024.

The above timelines are subject to change during Artemis 1 mission completion, technology development, and funding applications.