NASA Artemis program using Colorado mountains for astronaut moon landing training

As Artemis II pushes human travel farther from Earth, NASA is turning Colorado’s high peaks into a moon-landing classroom. Certified last August after work begun in 2021, a new course at the Colorado Army National Guard’s HAATS near Gypsum pairs astronauts with instructors to fly LUH-72 Lakotas, CH-47 Chinooks, and UH-60 Black Hawks in thin air, jagged terrain and shifting winds—conditions that mimic the lunar South Pole’s tricky lighting and slopes. The year-round program supports NASA’s three-pronged training, building coordination and hazard judgment ahead of landings using systems from SpaceX and Blue Origin.