Executive Abstract
Terrestrial life evolved over four billion years within the continuous, protective presence of Earth's geomagnetic field (GMF; ~50 µT). As space agencies prepare for sustained human presence on the Moon (Artemis program) and Mars, biological systems—including crops in bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS), closed-loop microbiomes, and human crew—will be permanently uprooted from this evolutionary baseline into severe hypomagnetic field (HMF) environments.
In this study, we present an integrated planetary magnetobiology investigation combining calibrated orbital and surface magnetometer datasets across 36 candidate, historical, and contemporary landing sites on the Moon (23 sites) and Mars (13 sites). We show that all 13 Artemis III candidate South Polar landing regions on the Moon reside within an ultra-low, near-null crustal magnetic baseline (|B30km| < 1.0 nT, >50,000× to >125,000× weaker than Earth). On Mars, we resolve a profound hemispheric dichotomy: ice-rich northern lowland candidate habitat sites (Arcadia Planitia, Deuteronilus Mensae) experience extreme near-null hypomagnetism (|Bsurf| < 25 nT), whereas southern highland anomaly belts (Terra Sirenum) harbor intense remnant crustal fields (|Bsurf| > 1500 nT) forming mini-magnetospheres. InSight magnetometry confirms ground-level bedrock amplification (~2013 nT).
Key Scientific Discoveries
🌕 The Lunar Polar Null Regime
All 13 candidate Artemis III South Polar landing sites experience fields <1.0 nT at 30 km altitude. This near-null baseline is 50,000× to 125,000× weaker than Earth's geomagnetic field, imposing chronic hypomagnetic stress on biological payloads.
🔴 Martian Hemispheric Dichotomy
Mars presents two divergent magnetic regimes: demagnetized northern lowlands (Arcadia ISRU candidate sites <20 nT) vs. magnetized southern highlands (Terra Sirenum >1500 nT mini-magnetospheres capable of plasma deflection).
🌱 Biophysical Stress Mechanisms
HMF exposure disrupts cryptochrome/phytochrome light sensing, PIN2 polar auxin transport, iron homeostasis, and thylakoid ultrastructure in plants, while accelerating osteoclastic bone loss in mammalian models.
⚡ Active Helmholtz Mitigation
We propose active magnetic restoration arrays (~50 µT artificial GMF) inside extraterrestrial growth chambers and standardized fluxgate magnetometers on precursor landers.
Geospatial Magnetic Dataset Across 36 Planetary Landing Sites
Filtered dataset comparing magnetic field magnitudes at mapping altitude and estimated ground surface intensity:
| Landing Site / Region | Body / Mission | Latitude (°) | Longitude (°E) | |Borb| (nT) | |Bsurf| (nT) | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar Artemis III Candidate South Polar Regions (30 km Baseline) | ||||||
| Faustini Rim A | Moon / Artemis III | -85.30 | 77.00 | 0.45 | 0.45 | Low/Null-Field |
| Peak Near Shackleton | Moon / Artemis III | -89.70 | 166.00 | 0.82 | 0.82 | Low/Null-Field |
| Connecting Ridge | Moon / Artemis III | -88.00 | 137.00 | 0.60 | 0.60 | Low/Null-Field |
| Haworth | Moon / Artemis III | -87.40 | 358.00 | 0.40 | 0.40 | Low/Null-Field |
| Amundsen Rim | Moon / Artemis III | -84.50 | 85.00 | 0.65 | 0.65 | Low/Null-Field |
| Historical Lunar Missions | ||||||
| Apollo 11 | Moon / Apollo | 0.67 | 23.47 | 0.93 | 0.93 | Low/Null-Field |
| Apollo 16 (Highlands) | Moon / Apollo | -8.97 | 15.50 | 4.94 | 4.94 | Moderate-Field |
| Chang'e 4 (SPA Basin) | Moon / Chang'e | -45.46 | 177.60 | 0.72 | 0.72 | Low/Null-Field |
| Martian Landing Sites & Human Candidate Base Outposts | ||||||
| Jezero Crater (Perseverance) | Mars / Mars 2020 | 18.45 | 77.45 | 2.75 | 23.40 | Low/Null-Field |
| Arcadia Planitia (ISRU Base) | Mars / Human Candidate | 39.30 | 189.70 | 0.71 | 6.00 | Low/Null-Field (<25 nT) |
| Elysium Planitia (InSight) | Mars / Discovery | 4.50 | 135.62 | 1.99 | 2013.00 | High-Field Outpost |
| Terra Sirenum Anomaly Belt | Mars / Science Base | -30.00 | 195.00 | 140.07 | 1190.60 | High-Field Outpost (>1500 nT) |
Multi-Planetary Biological Risk Matrix
| Biological System | Earth GMF (~50 µT) | Mars Sirenum (>1000 nT) | Mars InSight (~2000 nT) | Mars Northern Plains (<25 nT) | Lunar Highlands (1–5 nT) | Lunar South Pole (<1.0 nT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant Vegetative Biomass | Baseline | Low Risk | Low Risk | High Risk | Moderate Risk | High Risk |
| Plant Flowering & Seed Set | Baseline | Moderate Risk | Moderate Risk | High Risk | Moderate-High Risk | High Risk |
| Closed-Loop Microbiome | Baseline | Low Risk | Low Risk | Moderate Risk | Low-Moderate Risk | Moderate Risk |
| Circadian Clocks | Baseline | Low-Moderate Risk | Low-Moderate Risk | High Risk | Moderate-High Risk | High Risk |
| Human Musculoskeletal | Baseline | Moderate Risk | Moderate Risk | High Risk | High Risk | High Risk |