Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Exploration Zones (EZ) Within NASA's Nine Candidate Landing Regions for Artemis IV

This independent research presents a comprehensive spatial framework for evaluating and prioritizing potential Exploration Zones (EZ) within NASA's candidate landing regions for the Artemis IV mission. Characterized by extreme topography and complex illumination conditions, the lunar south pole requires rigorous multi-criteria optimization to balance scientific potential with engineering constraints. To address this, a robust two-stage methodology was developed and executed using programmatic spatial data analysis in Python: Four-Phase Spatial Filtering: Sequentially isolates viable sites from raster datasets based on four critical operational constraints: topographic slope stability for landing and regional mobility, solar illumination availability, Direct-to-Earth (DTE) communication visibility, and proximal access to high-yield water-ice bearing Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs). CRITIC-TOPSIS Ranking Framework: Utilizes the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method to objectively determine attribute weights from the filtered spatial data. These weights are then integrated into the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to rank the viable Exploration Zones based on their mathematical proximity to an ideal lunar landing site. The resulting analysis provides an optimized, data-driven ranking of landing zones, offering valuable insights into lunar surface trafficability, resource accessibility, and operational safety parameters for sustainable exploration.