NASA plans to ignite fire on Moon's surface: Should you be worried?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning a dangerous yet interesting experiment on the lunar surface to determine the possible scenarios in case something goes wrong aboard future moon missions.

The American space agency is planning to light a fire on the moon to see how the flame reacts in low-gravity environments.

Fire is one of the most terrifying threats that astronauts could face while aboard future lunar missions, because materials that are not flammable on Earth can actually burn for a very long time out in space.

For the experiment planned for later this year, four fuel samples will be sent to the moon in an uncrewed Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS). These samples will then be ignited as sensors and cameras detect how much oxygen they consume and how the flame spreads.

The experiment is proposed as NASA plans to land astronauts back on the moon for the first since the Apollo mission around 50 years ago. Artemis IV mission is scheduled to take humans back to the moon by 2028. 

However, a recent report suggested that delay in development of spacesuits could cause a delay of around three years to Artemis IV mission.

Currently, NASA uses a NASA-STD-6001B test to determine if the materials are safe to be used in lunar missions. The test applies a six-inch flame to the bottom of a material; it fails if the flame spreads more than six inches upward or if it produces burning drips.

However, the limitation of this test is that it does not actually tell the reality of how the specific material could burn in space.

Flammability of Materials on the Moon (FM) will mark the first time that such a test is performed in space.