Optical and Laser-Based Measurements for NASA’s Artemis Program

NASA and their partners have embarked on a series of space missions to the moon and beyond, collectively known as the Artemis Program. The Artemis I mission flew in November 2022. This talk briefly summarizes the Artemis missions and describes laser and optical measurement technique development and application to ground and flight tests related to, or inspired by, the Artemis program. In particular, development and application of three different measurement techniques (planar laser-induced fluorescence [PLIF], femtosecond laser electronic excitation and tagging [FLEET] and stereo photogrammetry) are described. These techniques have been applied to study vehicle launch, lunar landing, and Earth entry. Measurements obtained in a March 2025 lunar landing from the Stereo CAmeras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) instrument are shown. Such optical and laser-based instrumentation can provide unique qualitative and quantitative information to inform the underlying physics of space flight while also providing benchmark data for validating ever advancing predictive codes.