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Astronauts should return to the Apollo 15 landing site on the moon and haul home some of its half-century-old poop and hardware, a panel told NASA on Wednesday.
A crew would land just north of the site at Mons Hadley — far enough away to avoid damaging it. From there, the astronauts would walk over to inspect the rover, lander base, instruments, and power systems the prior crew left behind in 1971.
That equipment has endured decades of space radiation and repeated heating and cooling as lunar days give way to nights. Scientists on Earth could study how the lunar environment impacts the hardware over time. A close look at the urine and feces in a lab could reveal how biological material changes and whether it affects the area around it.
That "would be foundational information [for] how we need to engineer the systems for lunar bases," said Dan Dumbacher, co-chairperson of the committee, "for anything humans take to the surface of the moon."
The mission proposal came from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee, whom NASA asked to recommend future moon-landing sites away from the lunar south pole, where the agency already intends to build a long-term moon base. In a new report, members of the committee selected four non-polar sites — Bhabha Crater, Mons Hadley, Orientale Basin, and Aristarchus Plateau — where they believe Artemis astronauts should collect samples, make observations, and conduct experiments. They prioritized locations they believed would benefit from human explorers over uncrewed robots.
These so-called "sorties," the term NASA used when tasking the committee, would be short, one-time visits. Because the poles lack the volcanic terrain found elsewhere on the moon, as well as radioactive metals like uranium and thorium, the brief trips would complement the base, not replace it, according to the report.
Each mission would send a pair of astronauts to make one to four moonwalks within 2 kilometers — or 1.2 miles — of their lander. That distance is a previously established "walkback" limit NASA decided long ago that the committee thinks the agency should try to extend. The panel also chose landing sites that offered the most opportunities for geology, biology, human health, and physics research.
The top pick, Bhabha Crater, sits inside what may be the solar system's largest and oldest crater, and its rocks could pin down when that massive impact happened. Situated on the far side of the moon, the crew would have to land farther from home than any humans before, letting NASA test how astronauts cope with isolation.
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The site is also prime for a telescope, said James Day, the other chairperson of the committee.
"It's an almost unmatched location for doing radio astronomy, and the reason for this is because it's in the quiet zone on the far side of the moon. It is shielded from the noise that we produce here on Earth," Day said. "This will give us information on the very early universe before the first stars or galaxies had formed."
At Orientale, the moon's youngest large basin at roughly 3.8 billion years old, astronauts would collect boulders from deep in the crust that could show whether the moon was once entirely molten. They would also set up a detector for gravitational waves — ripples in spacetime. The instrument could alert astronomers months before distant neutron stars collide, the committee leaders said.
Finally, the Aristarchus Plateau, an Apollo destination that NASA never reached, holds volcanic deposits that may yield water. It spans about 60 miles, so crews there would gain the most from the simple open rover the committee thinks NASA should build.
Among its recommendations, the panel said NASA should keep mapping the moon in detail from orbit, build instruments that can run through the lunar night, and set up a communications system that keeps crews in constant contact with Earth, even on the far side.
NASA will decide when and in what order to fly the missions.
"All four of these sites will give us profound knowledge," Day said, "not just of our moon, but of our solar system, and frankly of ourselves."
The chaos engulfing France is a preview of what Democrats want for America, Sen. Eric Schmitt warned, contrasting the unrest with new manufacturing jobs and a federal crime crackdown in Missouri that he credits to cooperation with the Trump administration.
"You see what’s happening in France. That’s exactly what they want here, the DSA Democrats," the Missouri Republican told Fox News Digital.
His warning comes as riots, fires and looting have swept France after protests over rising living costs and strained public services turned violent, prompting curfews in parts of Paris and other cities.
"I think the Democrat Party at this point is sort of post-American and anti-Western civilization," Schmitt said.
VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE 'CHILLING WARNING' FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS
With control of the House "up for grabs," Schmitt argued, Republicans need to make the stakes clear while showing voters what they have delivered.
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Asked what a Democratic House would mean for Trump’s agenda, Schmitt accused Democrats of obstructing Republican efforts on immigration, permitting reform and regulations.
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He warned that Democratic control could jeopardize funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and revive what he described as the political weaponization of government under former President Joe Biden.
But Schmitt also argued Republicans need to give voters a reason to support them, pointing to jobs and public safety as areas where he says cooperation with the Trump administration is paying off.
KEY AMERICAN INDUSTRY SEEING BLUE-COLLAR JOBS BOOM AS TRUMP'S RE-SHORING POLICIES PAY OFF
In Missouri, he highlighted Boeing’s selection to build the Air Force’s F-47 and the Navy’s next-generation F/A-XX fighter as a potentially transformative investment in American manufacturing.
Boeing secured the Navy contract in September after winning the Air Force program last year.
Schmitt, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the programs would mean 7,000 direct jobs, with additional opportunities for suppliers and surrounding businesses.
"It means that the goal we’ve been fighting for, which is that St. Louis is the defense tech capital of the United States of America, is coming true," he said.
Schmitt said he worked with Trump and administration officials to help land the programs, describing them as "generational opportunities" for Missouri workers.
"You think of the good-paying jobs that’s going to mean for generations to come, it’s just a game changer," he said.
He also tied the aircraft programs to the broader competition with China, saying the next generation of fighters would help meet military demands in the Pacific.
On public safety, Schmitt pointed to Operation Show Me Justice, an ATF-led enforcement surge that resulted in 435 arrests and the seizure of 166 firearms in St. Louis, according to the Justice Department.
Authorities also seized 81 kilograms of drugs and more than $1.25 million linked to suspected illegal gun and drug transactions during the operation, which officials announced had concluded Oct. 15.
Schmitt said his conversations with administration officials have carried a straightforward request for his hometown.
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"St. Louis, we need your help," he said.
The former Missouri attorney general described the toll of violence on families, including grandparents cleaning up broken glass and parents burying their children.
"We don’t need to accept this," he said. "We just don’t need to accept the idea that violent crime needs to be in the headlines every single day."
He pledged the effort would continue beyond the surge.
"This isn’t a one-and-done deal. There are more resources coming," Schmitt said.
For families wanting to send children safely to school, visit a park or attend a Cardinals game downtown, he said the goal is a better quality of life.
"I think the message is help is on the way, and there are real tangible results now, not just rhetoric, not just empty promises," Schmitt said.
"We’re not letting up."
Schmitt’s third major priority is modernizing St. Louis Lambert International Airport, an effort he linked to the region’s aerospace growth and aviation history.
His Modern Skies Act would fund improvements to air traffic control technology, towers and airport terminals. He said midsize airports need help securing investments that larger hubs can more readily finance.
"St. Louis is the gateway to the West," he said. "It deserves a world-class airport."
The proposal remains a legislative push rather than a guaranteed funding award for Lambert. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during an October visit that airport funding would be competitive.
For Schmitt, those priorities form part of the argument Republicans need to make as voters weigh control of Congress.
He cast the election as "common sense versus crazy," but cautioned that Republicans cannot assume their supporters will show up.
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"I just don’t think you can take anything for granted," Schmitt said. "I think we have to fight for every vote and tell an important story."
"I think if we do that, we’re gonna hold on to the Senate, and the House is up for grabs."
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