How military helicopters in Colorado will help land NASA's Artemis astronauts on the moon

A man in a blue jumpsuit sits next to a plane window wearing a helmet and headset as he looks down over a series of snowy mountains.

NASA is using Colorado's rugged peaks to rehearse the risky final moments of future Artemis lunar landings.

At the U.S. Army National Guard's High-Altitude Army Aviation Training Site (HAATS) in Gypsum, Colorado, astronauts are flying in military helicopters with Guard instructors to simulate the disorienting challenges of landing on the moon's complex surface, where deep craters, steep slopes and harsh lighting make navigation difficult.