While he was still a graduate student at Brown, Research Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences James Head PhD’69 P’90 recalled seeing a job posting in a book that read, “our job is to think our way to the moon and back.”
After calling the listed number, Head got the job — a position at NASA under the Apollo program. At least six lunar missions and several decades later, he is continuing his work on the Artemis program, which aims to help build a foundation for a manned mission to Mars.
While Head is not directly employed under NASA to work on Artemis, he is currently involved in background research for the program.
Head is heading the 500-Day Design Reference Mission, which researches practices — such as growing food — that would be necessary for 500 days on the moon. What is learned on the moon will be implemented on the Mars mission, Head explained.
Head’s research for Artemis includes finding solar power on the moon during a lunar day — a month where there are fourteen days of darkness — and exploring means for food production, nutrition and other support structures.
Another aspect of the mission includes training the astronauts, as they are unable to directly communicate with scientists on Earth once they are on Mars. “You (have) to go to the moon for two weeks at least” to be able to go to Mars, he added.
When Head was training astronauts on the Apollo program, he followed the mantra, “train them, trust them and turn them loose,” he said. The training “really made them be able to make the decisions” in space, Head added.
Head noted that this research also offers a way to train “the next generation of students.”
WaTae Mickey ’26, a research assistant in Head’s lab, is researching the site where Apollo 15 landed. One of the reasons the landing site “would be a great place to go back to for 500 days” is because of the “unanswered questions” about this area, he said, pointing to water-containing “green glass samples” that have been found at the site.
By returning to the moon, scientists will be able to better understand the lunar surface, including gathering information about why water might exist on these surfaces.
“What this really allows us to do is test out everything we’re gonna do on Mars on the moon first (and) make sure things work, find things that don’t and train the astronauts to be able to handle all this research in lower gravity environments,” Mickey said.
Logan Ramanathan ’28, another research assistant in the lab, is researching lunar surface power and surface interactions with rocket exhaust.
The research of lunar surface power focuses on accessing energy on the moon, which is most likely going to be obtained through nuclear reactors, according to Ramanathan. His work entails understanding the limitations of this reactor system and developing backup systems to continue supporting life in the event that the reactor stops working.
Testing things on the moon first is easier, since “Mars is really far away, and if something goes wrong on Mars, there’s nothing you can do,” Ramanathan said. “Basically, we have no room for mistakes there.”
The Artemis program is also fundamental to helping to understand the Earth’s formative history, according to Head. Most of the Earth’s crust has been recycled multiple times due to plate tectonics, so scientists have a limited understanding of the first third of the Earth’s history, he said.
By looking at “smaller bodies” that don’t have plate tectonics, “we can actually study the kinds of processes that were operating in those formative years of our own history,” Head said.
“It’s wonderful that we get to go back and look at all this and make new interpretations and discoveries from here,” Mickey said. “I can only imagine what we’ll get once we’re actually there on the field.”
Elizabeth Rosenbaum is a senior staff writer covering science and research.
