A spunky nasa zone over a mission to map the water of the moon

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer is officially in Florida and is combined with a spacex Falcon 9 missile to wait for space by the end of this month.

Petite satellite began to enter the Kennedy Space Center, Lunar orbit on February 26, and start with a fully assessment of the water content on the rocky satellite of our planet. Water molecules are available on the sunny surface of the month, but the water is lost in space and grows Again open question By filling the water on the lunar surface. Lunar Trailblazer can answer.

NASA’s jet landslide laboratory described the complex maneuver who will hold Aysblazer in a position in release published This week.

Lunar Trailblazer was released about 48 minutes from the rocket, and focused on the moon for a minimum two-year mission.

Trailblazer is equipped with two tools. One of its high resolution volatiles and mineral bear mapper or hvm^3rdThe other is the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) visible in infrared. Mineral and Water on the surface of the previous month, including items in the shoes with the bottoms of the bottoms of the bottoms and depths of the bottoms of the bottoms and items in the depths Water in the ice. LTM will also map minerals, but at the same time heat features of the surface of the month.

“The LTM tool clearly maps the surface temperature of the moon when HVM^3rd The tool is looking for a spectral signature of water molecules, “said Nile Bowles, LTM instrument scientist, earlier JPL release. “Both instruments will allow the surface temperature to understand how these molecules improve our knowledge about the presence and dissemination of these molecules.”

The space ship has a total of 440 kilos (200 kilograms) and is 11.5 meters (3.5 meters) when the solar panels are fully placed.

“For small missions, there is only two high fidelity tools in a single purpose, lunar trailblazer,” he said. “We really punched over our weight.”

It will take a spacecraft between four and seven months to reach the moon depending on the date of the start date; Regardless of this date, the mission will use the liners of attraction to reach the moon.

After the beginning, the mission will pass the two adjustment maneuver and average course adjustment before the flybys scheduled for March 3 and May 8.

The initial push of the missile will send a spacecraft to the moon and the trajectory, and then the trajectory will be reconstructed naturally by the gravity. Landoine, mission’s design and navigation presenter in JPL, in the same issue. “This is the most fuel-efficient way to reach where we need to go.”

The last orbital position of the spacecraft will be about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the lunar surface. The trailballazer will be 12 times a day, 12 times a month, will investigate the satellite surface in different times of the day in different periods of the day.

As a result, the data of the lunar trailblazer will help scientists better understand the surface of the moon and make NASA better for it Artemis missions in frontThe first time since Apollo missions aims to return mankind to the lunar surface.