NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission is scheduled for launch in January 2025, aiming to provide crucial data about water on the Moon.
This mission will work in conjunction with the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment (PRIME-1), which will deploy two instruments to analyze lunar soil and extract samples. The Lunar Trailblazer will utilize a Falcon 9 rocket to reach its destination, sharing the ride with PRIME-1 to optimize costs.
Led by principal investigator Bethany Ehlmann from Caltech, this mission is part of NASA’s Small, Innovative Mission for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. The budget for Lunar Trailblazer is approximately $80 million, which, while over the typical cap of $55 million for SIMPLEx missions, remains significantly lower than standard robotic missions that can cost around $300 million.
Recent advancements in small satellite technology have enabled this mission, which will utilize commercial off-the-shelf components to reduce expenses. Lunar Trailblazer will deploy two key instruments: the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) and the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3), which will assess the temperature and chemical composition of lunar rocks.
This mission aims to enhance understanding of the Moon's surface and the behavior of water in various states, contributing to broader scientific inquiries regarding the origin and evolution of water on celestial bodies.