Landing pad on the moon will create a spray from the engine

NASA will finance the development of the concept of instant construction of a landing site on the moon. The surface under the engine can be hardened using the exhaust from the nozzle, if you add melting elements to it. The project is funded under a program specifically designed to support bold initiatives.

One of the arguments of the supporters of the lunar conspiracy is that if the Apollo landings were real, then the engines of the lunar module would have lifted giant clouds of dust into the air. In fact, these clouds did indeed rise and close the view to the astronauts, which they repeatedly complained about.

In this photo, not a bad focus, but dense moon dust with a decrease in the landing module of the Apollo 12 mission

Loss of visibility is not the only problem associated with the decline on the moon. The greater the mass of the device, the more powerful the pulse of its exhaust, and the lunar modules of the Artemis program will weigh from 20 to 60 tons against 10 of Apollo. Because of this, future landers will not only raise dust, but also tear out stones that threaten the skin.

To combat this, several strategies are being considered, from the selection of the cleanest landing sites to the dumping of light slabs a couple of tens of meters from the surface. Masten Aerospace proposed an original approach: a solid platform under the engine can be created using the engine itself. The fact is that rocket fuel burns out at a very high temperature (up to several thousand degrees). If aluminum (or its compound) is introduced into the torch during the descent phase, it will instantly melt and become an aerosol, after which it will fly to regolith, solidify and form a crust. After that, you can sit on the prepared site without fear of dust, stones or a spontaneously dug crater. The concept is called the in-Flight Alumina Spray Technique (FAST).

Concept scheme: fusible particles are injected into the nozzle, fly out of it and adhere to regolith 3-3-3333.

In early April, NASA approved funding for this development under the Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. I must say that the goal of this program is to finance high-risk concepts that could potentially lead to a breakthrough, so it cannot be unequivocally stated that the modules of the Artemis missions will use this particular scheme. If the project proves its efficiency, it will greatly simplify the landing on many bodies of the solar system.

Earlier, NASA decided on a list of potential contractors for the delivery of small commercial cargoes to the moon, including the heir to the Israeli probe Bereshit.