NASA's Lunar Trailblazer Mission Launches to Map Water on the Moon on February 26

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission, carrying a thermal imaging camera from the University of Oxford, launched on February 26 to map water sources on the Moon. The spacecraft will scan the lunar surface, focusing on shadowed craters at the South Pole, potentially containing vast amounts of water ice. The Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM), developed by Oxford, will measure surface temperatures and analyze lunar terrain composition, working with NASA/JPL's HVM3 to create detailed water maps. The mission aims to understand the lunar water cycle and provide data for future lunar exploration and deep-space travel. It hitched a ride on the Intuitive Machines lander and will take four to seven months to reach its final orbit.