NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer to Hunt for Moon Water [updated]

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NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Gets Final Payload for Moon Water Hunt

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The spacecraft’s Lunar Thermal Mapper science instrument will work with an imaging spectrometer to help researchers understand the nature of water on the Moon’s surface.

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer is nearing completion now that its second and final cutting-edge science instrument has been added to the small spacecraft. Built by the University of Oxford in England and contributed by the UK Space Agency, the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) joins the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM³), which was integrated with the spacecraft late last year. Together, the instruments will enable scientists to determine the abundance, location, and form of the Moon’s water.

Read More: NASA

 

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Lunar Trailblazer Spacecraft Undergoing Final Preparations for Trip to Florida

UCF planetary scientist Kerri Donaldson Hanna is part of the NASA mission that will create high-resolution maps of water ice on the moon, which will be crucial for future space exploration.

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University of Central Florida planetary scientist Kerri Donaldson Hanna is counting the days until NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission launches from Cape Canaveral and begins its journey to search for water on the moon.

The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft, set to launch in March 2024, has been undergoing final preparations and testing with Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado, for it to be shipped to Florida to be integrated into SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

Once orbiting the moon, Lunar Trailblazer will use multiple instruments to create high-resolution maps of water ice deposits on the moon. Ice will be a critical resource for lunar and space exploration and may be used to provide hydration for astronauts and fuel for spacecraft.

Read More: University of Central Florida

 

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NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Spacecraft Completes Environmental Testing

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NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft in a clean room after undergoing environmental testing at Lockheed Martin Space. The tests mark the latest milestone as the mission prepares for launch in the fourth quarter of 2024 with an extended mission window reaching into January 2025. Credit: Lockheed Martin Space

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft recently completed the shaking, chilling, baking, and other testing needed to ensure it can survive launch and the harsh conditions of space. Now that environmental testing is done, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, is putting the orbiter and its science instruments through flight system software tests that simulate key aspects of launch, maneuvers, and the science mission while in orbit around the Moon. At the same time, the operations team led by IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California, is conducting tests to simulate commanding, communication with NASA’s Deep Space Network, and navigation.

Read More: ➡️ NASA