Moon Water Search is about to make a massive leap into new territory as NASA’s moon pioneer Orbiter and the latest intuitive machine, Lunar Lander, prepare for launch. These missions – riding together on the same SpaceX Falcon9 rocket – aim to answer key questions about the presence of water on the moon, which has become a top priority in space exploration.
The release is scheduled for the evening of February 26th, 2025 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lunar trail blazer keeps the moon on track as it draws water sources from afar, while the intuitive mechanical lander (called “Athena”) lands at the lunar Antarctic, deploys equipment to excavate the surface and measures water ice and gas.
Moon water mapping
After its release, The Moon’s Pioneer – This is a small satellite – takes a path supported by the gravity of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun, known as “low energy transmission.” After 4-7 months, we will enter the lunar orbit and for the next two years we will scan the lunar landscape for water signs.
The satellite uses two instruments to measure. High-resolution volatile and mineral Moon Mapper (HVM3) and Moon Thermal Mapper (LTM). The HVM3 instrument, a short-wave infrared imaging spectrometer, determines the shape, abundance and location of water on the lunar surface by detecting the wavelength of reflected sunlight. Meanwhile, the mid-infrared imager, LTM measures the surface temperature of the moon in the same area. HVM3 is concentrated.
The collaboration of the two devices could generate detailed maps at different times during the day, revealing potential changes in water volume from day to night. Scientists want to use this information to better understand how the lunar water cycle works in an airless environment.
Excavation for answers
Taking another trajectory, IM-2 According to NASA, the mission is expected to land in the moon’s Antarctica around March 6 after spending about a week into the moon around March 6th.
As part of NASA’s Commercial Month Payload Services (CLPS) program, IM-2 will carry several technologies to carry out monthly testing. The most prominent of these payloads is Prime-1a NASA survey using two instruments to assist in searching for water: Trident (a regolith and ice drill for exploring new topography), a drill that can extract lunar soil, and MSOLO, a mass spectrometer that examines soil samples for water ice.
read more: Rethinking the origins of water seen on the moon
Why is the moon water so important?
Since the discovery of water molecules in lunar soils by the Chandrayaan-1 Probe of the Indian Space Research Institute in 2008, the pursuit of lunar water has been accelerated. For the next few years, space agencies competed to uncover additional evidence of lunar water coming in the form of water ice embedded within the soil.
Water ice is thought to occur primarily in the permanently shadowed polar regions of the moon, but in 2020 water molecules were detected in the sun-lit section of the moon by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
Scientists tried to understand what exactly caused the presence of water ice on the moon. multiple theory From comet impact to solar wind, it interacts with the moon, and produces hydrogen atoms that bond with existing oxygen atoms beneath the moon.
This mystery has not yet been solved, but the Moon Pioneer and IM-2 missions allow us to take a step closer to the answers scientists are chasing. The outcome of the mission could also raise hope for a future space mission, as the presence of lunar water ice could ultimately translate into drinking water, breathable air and fuel for astronauts.
read more: Moon water could return to early Earth – and comets
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Jack Knudson is Discover’s assistant editor with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before taking part in the discovery in 2023, he studied journalism at Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communications and previously interned in Recycle Today’s Magazine.
