NASA's Lunar Trailblazer, with a deployed solar array, studies the lunar water cycle., Photo Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin Space
NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission is set to provide unprecedented information about the moon’s hidden water. Built by Lockheed Martin and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this small satellite aims to detect, measure and understand water on the moon’s surface. Trailblazer, which will launch next year, will play a key role in discovering the forms and behaviors of water in areas of the moon where it has long been theorized about but rarely observed.
Mapping lunar ice and water
With two scientific instruments, Lunar Trailblazer will map and identify surface water and ice on the moon. The High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) is a sophisticated infrared spectrometer capable of detecting water in various states. It can peer into permanently shadowed craters, using the reflection of sunlight off crater walls to see areas untouched by light for billions of years. The second instrument, the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM), developed by the University of Oxford and funded by the U.K. Space Agency, will assess the thermal properties and surface minerals of these regions. Together, they provide a dual approach that promises to deepen our understanding of the moon’s water.
Potential implications for future exploration
Lunar Trailblazer’s findings will support future lunar missions by locating potentially accessible ice deposits. This knowledge is important for future explorers, who could use lunar ice as a resource to produce oxygen or rocket fuel. Studying the composition of the ice could also provide clues about the origin of lunar water, which could come from sources such as comets or volcanic activity on the moon. According to experts, lunar ice core samples can provide a historical record similar to glaciers on Earth, shedding light on the origin and history of the moon’s water.
Launch Preparations
The mission, which began in 2019 as part of NASA’s SIMPLEx initiative, is now in its final preparation stages. After successfully completing environmental and operational tests, Lunar Trailblazer will share the launch with Intuitive Machines-2. Its lightweight design, which weighs only 440 pounds and spans 11.5 feet when fully deployed, makes it ideal for planetary exploration. With mission operations led by Caltech and supported by JPL and Lockheed Martin, Trailblazer will soon begin a new phase in lunar science.
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