Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Credit: NASA/Daniel Rutter
Where exactly is water on the Moon? NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission aims to provide answers, exploring both the abundance and mysterious movements of lunar water.
Equipped with innovative instruments, Lunar Trailblazer will map the Moon’s water in unprecedented detail, helping solve mysteries about its distribution and form.
Is Moon water from ancient volcanic activity or cosmic sources like comets? Bethany Ehlmann of Caltech explains how the mission could reveal Earth’s water origins.
Credit: NASA
Lunar ice might hold clues to the Moon's history, like Earth’s glacial ice cores. Rachel Klima from Johns Hopkins highlights this groundbreaking scientific opportunity.
Credit: NASA
Do water molecules freely roam or stay locked in rocks? Understanding these movements could change what we know about water cycles on airless bodies like asteroids.
The HVM3 and LTM instruments will map minerals and detect water forms, combining temperature data to unveil the Moon’s hidden water dynamics.
Credit: Jasper Miura / Lockheed Martin
Neil Bowles from Oxford explains how surface temperature mapping by LTM will help refine our understanding of how water behaves in extreme lunar conditions.
Credits: ISRO/NASA
Lunar Trailblazer is undergoing critical flight tests at Caltech, simulating maneuvers and communications to ensure mission readiness for Moon exploration.
Findings from Lunar Trailblazer could guide future lunar colonization efforts and help us understand water cycles on other airless worlds, a key step for space exploration.