NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer satellite is set to launch into space later this month, with an anticipated liftoff from Kennedy Space Center on February 26. The satellite aims to reach lunar orbit and gather data on the water content on our planet’s rocky satellite.
The 440-pound (200-kilogram) spacecraft will be equipped with two instruments: a High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper, which maps minerals and water on the Moon’s surface, and a Lunar Thermal Mapper, which measures the thermal properties of the lunar surface. These findings could help scientists understand how surface temperature affects water molecules and improve knowledge of their presence and distribution on the Moon.
The spacecraft will take four to seven months to reach the Moon, using gravitational assists along the way. After launch, it will undergo two correction maneuvers and a mid-course correction before scheduled flybys in March and May. The mission aims to insert the spacecraft into lunar orbit by July 7, approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface.
The Lunar Trailblazer’s data will aid scientists in better understanding the Moon’s surface, providing crucial insights for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo era.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/meet-trailblazer-a-spunky-nasa-probe-on-a-mission-to-map-the-moons-water-2000564099