 Artist's impression of the spacecraft | |
| Mission type | Lunar mapping |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2025-038C |
| SATCAT no. | 63101 |
| Website | trailblazer |
| Mission duration | 1 year (planned)[1] 11 hours, 13 minutes (total) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | LM-200[1] |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin |
| Launch mass | 210 kg (460 lb)[1][2] |
| Payload mass | 20 kg (44 lb) |
| Power | 280 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 27 February 2025, 00:16:30 UTC[3] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1083.9) |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Spacecraft failure |
| Last contact | 27 February 2025, 11:30 UTC[4] |
| Moon orbiter | |
| |
Lunar Trailblazer was a small (class D) lunar orbiter, part of NASA's SIMPLEx program, with a mission to detect and map water on the lunar surface to determine how its form, abundance, and location relate to geology.[5] Its mission is to aid in the understanding of lunar water and the Moon's water cycle. Lunar Trailblazer was launched on 27 February 2025, as a secondary payload on the IM-2 mission.[6] The Principal Investigator (PI) of the mission is Bethany Ehlmann, a professor at Caltech.[7] Soon after launch, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
skyrocket1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Getting To The Moon". Caltech Lunar Trailblazer. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "PRIME-1 (IM-2)". Next Spaceflight. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nasa2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ehlmann, B.L. "Lunar Trailblazer: A Pioneering Small Satellite for Lunar Water and Lunar Geology" (PDF). Lunar & Planetary Science Conference 2022. Lunar & Planetary Institute. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
- ^ David, Leonard (12 September 2024). "Ice-hunting Lunar Trailblazer and IM-2 nearly ready for January 2025 launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
- ^ "Caltech-Led Lunar Trailblazer Mission Approved to Begin Final Design and Build – Pasadena Now". www.pasadenanow.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.