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Narrator: A team at NASA's Ames Research Center

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has created a lunar surface analog, or simulated

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lunar environment, to study lighting conditions

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experienced at the unexplored poles of the moon.

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Uland Wong: One of the biggest challenges is

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figuring out the lighting conditions and

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the issues with depth perception

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at the poles of the Moon.

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The lighting is at a very low angle, close to

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the horizon at all times of the day.

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This creates very long shadows

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and high contrast scenes.

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Narrator: Researcher Uland Wong is leading a team

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to study these unique lighting and terrain

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conditions that pose a challenge

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for navigating a rover.

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Uland: Imagine driving through terrain blanketed

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after a snow storm.

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It's almost the same as driving on the Moon.

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Narrator: The team has created a dozen

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scenarios of exact recreations of craters

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and boulders at the poles of the Moon.

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In addition to lighting conditions,

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they also simulate the lunar soil.

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Uland: We have a special soil called regolith

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that is made to be very similar to the soil

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on the Moon.

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It has unique reflective properties because of

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space weathering processes that you don't find

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on Earth because of the atmosphere and water erosion.

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No robotic mission has ever explored the poles

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of the Moon and we don't know very much about

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these unique lighting conditions and how they might

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affect robots navigating and exploring

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the unknown terrain.