5 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1-pia26429-lunar-trailblazer-art.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nSunlight gleams off NASA\u2019s Lunar Trailblazer as the dishwasher-size spacecraft orbits the Moon in this artist\u2019s concept. The mission will discover where the Moon\u2019s water is, what form it is in, and how it changes over time, producing the best-yet maps of water on the lunar surface.<\/div>\nLockheed Martin Space<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe small satellite mission will map the Moon to help scientists better understand where its water is, what form it\u2019s in, how much is there, and how it changes over time.<\/em><\/p>\nLaunching no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26, NASA\u2019s Lunar Trailblazer will help resolve an enduring mystery: Where is the Moon\u2019s water? After sharing a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Intuitive Machines\u2019 IM-2 launch \u2014 part of NASA\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative \u2014 the small satellite will take several months to arrive in lunar orbit.<\/p>\n
Here are six things to know about the mission.<\/p>\n
1. Lunar Trailblazer will produce high-resolution maps of water on the lunar surface.<\/strong><\/h3>\nOne of the biggest lunar discoveries in recent decades is that the Moon\u2019s surface has quantities of water, but little about its nature is known. To investigate, Lunar Trailblazer will decipher where the water is<\/a>, what form it is in, how much is there, and how it changes over time. The small satellite will produce the best-yet maps of water on the lunar surface. Observations gathered during the two-year prime mission<\/a> will also contribute to the understanding of water cycles on airless bodies throughout the solar system.<\/p>\n2. The small satellite will use two state-of-the-art science instruments.<\/strong><\/h3>\nKey to achieving these goals are the spacecraft\u2019s two science instruments: the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3<\/sup><\/a>) infrared spectrometer and the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM<\/a>) infrared multispectral imager. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provided the HVM3<\/sup> instrument, while LTM was built by the University of Oxford and funded by the UK Space Agency. \u00a0<\/p>\nHVM3<\/sup> will detect and map the spectral fingerprints, or wavelengths of reflected sunlight, of minerals and the different forms of water on the lunar surface. The LTM instrument will map the minerals and thermal properties of the same landscape. Together they will create a picture of the abundance, location, and form of water while also tracking how its distribution changes over time and temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"NASA\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/e-pia26460-figa.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nFueled and attached to an adaptor used for secondary payloads, NASA\u2019s Lunar Trailblazer is seen at SpaceX\u2019s payload processing facility within NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in early February 2025. The small satellite is riding along on Intuitive Machines\u2019 IM-2 launch.<\/div>\nSpaceX<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n3. Lunar Trailblazer will take a long and winding road to the Moon.<\/strong><\/h3>\nWeighing only 440 pounds (200 kilograms) and measuring 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) wide with its solar panels fully deployed, Lunar Trailblazer is about the size of a dishwasher and relies on a relatively small propulsion system. To make the spacecraft\u2019s four-to-seven-month trip to the Moon (depending on the launch date) as efficient as possible, the mission\u2019s design and navigation team has planned a looping trajectory<\/a> that will use the gravity of the Sun, Earth, and Moon to guide Lunar Trailblazer to its final science orbit \u2014 a technique called low-energy transfer<\/a>.<\/p>\n4.<\/strong> The spacecraft will peer into the darkest parts of the Moon\u2019s South Pole.<\/strong><\/h3>\nLunar Trailblazer\u2019s science orbit positions it to peer into the craters at the Moon\u2019s South Pole using the HVM3<\/sup> instrument. What makes these craters so intriguing is that they harbor cold traps that may not have seen direct sunlight for billions of years, which means they\u2019re a potential hideout for frozen water. The HVM3<\/sup> spectrometer is designed to use faint reflected light from the walls of craters to see the floor of even permanently shadowed regions. If Lunar Trailblazer finds significant quantities of ice at the base of the craters, those locations could be pinpointed as a resource for future lunar explorers.<\/p>\n5. Lunar Trailblazer is a high-risk, low-cost mission.<\/strong><\/h3>\nLunar Trailblazer was a 2019 selection of NASA\u2019s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration), which provides opportunities for low-cost science spacecraft to ride-share with selected primary missions. To maintain a lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and lighter requirements for oversight and management. This higher risk acceptance allows NASA to enable science missions that could not otherwise be done.<\/p>\n
6. Future missions will benefit from Lunar Trailblazer\u2019s data.<\/strong><\/h3>\nMapping the Moon\u2019s water supports future human and robotic lunar missions. With knowledge from Lunar Trailblazer of where water is located, astronauts could process lunar ice to create water for human use, breathable oxygen, or fuel. And they could conduct science by sampling the ice for later study to determine the water\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n
More About Lunar Trailblazer<\/strong><\/h3>\nLunar Trailblazer is led by Principal Investigator Bethany Ehlmann of Caltech in Pasadena, California. Caltech also leads the mission\u2019s science investigation, and Caltech\u2019s IPAC leads mission operations, which includes planning, scheduling, and sequencing of all spacecraft activities. NASA JPL manages Lunar Trailblazer and provides system engineering, mission assurance, the HVM3<\/sup> instrument, and mission design and navigation. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA. Lockheed Martin Space provided the spacecraft, integrated the flight system, and supports operations under contract with Caltech. The University of Oxford developed and provided the LTM instrument, funded by the UK Space Agency. Lunar Trailblazer, part of NASA\u2019s Lunar Discovery Exploration Program, is managed by NASA\u2019s Planetary Mission Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.<\/p>\nNews Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\nKaren Fox \/ Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nIan J. O\u2019Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nIsabel Swafford
Caltech IPAC
626-216-4257
iswafford@ipac.caltech.edu<\/a><\/p>\n2025-027<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1-pia26429-lunar-trailblazer-art.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>The small satellite mission will map the Moon to help scientists better understand where its water is, what form it\u2019s in, how much is there, and how it changes over time.<\/em><\/p>\n Launching no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26, NASA\u2019s Lunar Trailblazer will help resolve an enduring mystery: Where is the Moon\u2019s water? After sharing a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Intuitive Machines\u2019 IM-2 launch \u2014 part of NASA\u2019s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative \u2014 the small satellite will take several months to arrive in lunar orbit.<\/p>\n Here are six things to know about the mission.<\/p>\n One of the biggest lunar discoveries in recent decades is that the Moon\u2019s surface has quantities of water, but little about its nature is known. To investigate, Lunar Trailblazer will decipher where the water is<\/a>, what form it is in, how much is there, and how it changes over time. The small satellite will produce the best-yet maps of water on the lunar surface. Observations gathered during the two-year prime mission<\/a> will also contribute to the understanding of water cycles on airless bodies throughout the solar system.<\/p>\n Key to achieving these goals are the spacecraft\u2019s two science instruments: the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3<\/sup><\/a>) infrared spectrometer and the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM<\/a>) infrared multispectral imager. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provided the HVM3<\/sup> instrument, while LTM was built by the University of Oxford and funded by the UK Space Agency. \u00a0<\/p>\n HVM3<\/sup> will detect and map the spectral fingerprints, or wavelengths of reflected sunlight, of minerals and the different forms of water on the lunar surface. The LTM instrument will map the minerals and thermal properties of the same landscape. Together they will create a picture of the abundance, location, and form of water while also tracking how its distribution changes over time and temperature.<\/p>\n Weighing only 440 pounds (200 kilograms) and measuring 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) wide with its solar panels fully deployed, Lunar Trailblazer is about the size of a dishwasher and relies on a relatively small propulsion system. To make the spacecraft\u2019s four-to-seven-month trip to the Moon (depending on the launch date) as efficient as possible, the mission\u2019s design and navigation team has planned a looping trajectory<\/a> that will use the gravity of the Sun, Earth, and Moon to guide Lunar Trailblazer to its final science orbit \u2014 a technique called low-energy transfer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lunar Trailblazer\u2019s science orbit positions it to peer into the craters at the Moon\u2019s South Pole using the HVM3<\/sup> instrument. What makes these craters so intriguing is that they harbor cold traps that may not have seen direct sunlight for billions of years, which means they\u2019re a potential hideout for frozen water. The HVM3<\/sup> spectrometer is designed to use faint reflected light from the walls of craters to see the floor of even permanently shadowed regions. If Lunar Trailblazer finds significant quantities of ice at the base of the craters, those locations could be pinpointed as a resource for future lunar explorers.<\/p>\n Lunar Trailblazer was a 2019 selection of NASA\u2019s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration), which provides opportunities for low-cost science spacecraft to ride-share with selected primary missions. To maintain a lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and lighter requirements for oversight and management. This higher risk acceptance allows NASA to enable science missions that could not otherwise be done.<\/p>\n Mapping the Moon\u2019s water supports future human and robotic lunar missions. With knowledge from Lunar Trailblazer of where water is located, astronauts could process lunar ice to create water for human use, breathable oxygen, or fuel. And they could conduct science by sampling the ice for later study to determine the water\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n Lunar Trailblazer is led by Principal Investigator Bethany Ehlmann of Caltech in Pasadena, California. Caltech also leads the mission\u2019s science investigation, and Caltech\u2019s IPAC leads mission operations, which includes planning, scheduling, and sequencing of all spacecraft activities. NASA JPL manages Lunar Trailblazer and provides system engineering, mission assurance, the HVM3<\/sup> instrument, and mission design and navigation. JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA. Lockheed Martin Space provided the spacecraft, integrated the flight system, and supports operations under contract with Caltech. The University of Oxford developed and provided the LTM instrument, funded by the UK Space Agency. Lunar Trailblazer, part of NASA\u2019s Lunar Discovery Exploration Program, is managed by NASA\u2019s Planetary Mission Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.<\/p>\n Karen Fox \/ Molly Wasser Ian J. O\u2019Neill Isabel Swafford 2025-027<\/p>\n1. Lunar Trailblazer will produce high-resolution maps of water on the lunar surface.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. The small satellite will use two state-of-the-art science instruments.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/figure>3. Lunar Trailblazer will take a long and winding road to the Moon.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4.<\/strong> The spacecraft will peer into the darkest parts of the Moon\u2019s South Pole.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Lunar Trailblazer is a high-risk, low-cost mission.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Future missions will benefit from Lunar Trailblazer\u2019s data.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
More About Lunar Trailblazer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
News Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n
Caltech IPAC
626-216-4257
iswafford@ipac.caltech.edu<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n