NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission is set to provide unprecedented insight into the Moon’s hidden water. Built by Lockheed Martin and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this small satellite aims to locate, measure, and understand water on the lunar surface. Launching next year, the Trailblazer will play a pivotal role in discovering the forms and behaviours of water in areas of the Moon where it has long been theorised but rarely observed.
Mapping Lunar Ice and Water
With two scientific instruments aboard, the 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 sunlight reflections from crater walls to view 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 UK Space Agency, will assess the thermal properties and surface minerals of these regions. Together, they offer a dual perspective that promises to deepen our understanding of the Moon’s water.
Potential Impact for Future Exploration
The findings of Lunar Trailblazer will support future lunar missions by potentially locating accessible ice deposits. This knowledge is critical for future explorers, who may use lunar ice as a resource to produce oxygen or rocket fuel. Studying the ice composition could also reveal clues about the origins of lunar water, which may come from sources like comets or volcanic activity on the Moon. According to experts, lunar ice core samples could yield a historical record similar to those from glaciers on Earth, shedding light on the Moon’s water origins and history.
Preparing for Launch
The mission began as part of NASA’s SIMPLEx initiative in 2019, is now in its final preparation stages. Having successfully completed environmental and operational tests, the Lunar Trailblazer will share a launch with Intuitive Machines-2. Its lightweight design, weighing only 440 pounds and measuring 11.5 feet when fully deployed, makes it ideal for planetary exploration. With mission operations led by Caltech and backed by JPL and Lockheed Martin, the Trailblazer will soon take on a new phase in lunar science.