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How NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Will Make a Looping Voyage to the Moon
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By NASA
Caption: The Intuitive Machines lunar lander that will deliver NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign is encapsulated in the fairing of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission is targeted to launch no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26. The mission will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ with prelaunch events starting Tuesday, Feb. 25. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. Follow all events at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
After the launch, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Athena, will spend approximately one week in transit to the Moon before landing on the lunar surface no earlier than Thursday, March 6. The lander will carry NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations to further our understanding of the Moon’s environment and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
Among the items on Intuitive Machines’ lander, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the Moon. A drill and mass spectrometer will measure the potential presence of volatiles or gases from lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau in the Moon’s South Pole. In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface. Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface.
Launching as a rideshare with the IM-2 delivery, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also will begin its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
The deadline has passed for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch. The agency’s media accreditation policy is available online. More information about media accreditation is available by emailing: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Tuesday, Feb. 25
11 a.m. – Lunar science and technology media teleconference with the following participants:
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Niki Werkheiser, director, technology maturation, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Jackie Quinn, Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (PRIME-1) project manager, NASA Kennedy Daniel Cremons, LRA deputy principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Bethany Ehlmann, Lunar Trailblazer principal investigator, Caltech Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines Thierry Klein, president, Bell Labs Solution Research, Nokia Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
https://www.nasa.gov/live/
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 10 a.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 25, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
11:30 a.m. – Lunar delivery readiness media teleconference with the following participants:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Clayton Turner, associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines William Gerstenmaier, vice president, build and flight reliability, SpaceX Melody Lovin, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
https://www.nasa.gov/live/
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 26, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Launch coverage will begin on NASA+ approximately 45 minutes before liftoff. A specific time will be shared the week of Feb. 24.
NASA Launch Coverage
Audio only of the media teleconferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the mission broadcast begins.
On launch day, a “tech feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning Feb. 26, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
NASA Virtual Guests for Launch
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email, including curated mission resources, schedule updates, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch. Print your passport and get ready to add your stamp!
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #Artemis. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis, @NASAMoon
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, NASAArtemis
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis
Coverage en Español
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en español? Check out NASA en español on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for additional mission coverage.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
For more information about the agency’s CLPS initiative, see:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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Karen Fox / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 321-432-4624
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Science Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) in a cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. After final installations are complete, it will be packaged and transported to the United States for final outfitting before being integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element and launched to lunar orbit. Thales Alenia Space Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts on missions to and around the Moon. The agency and its international partners report progress continues on Gateway, the first space station that will permanently orbit the Moon, after visiting the Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin, Italy, where initial fabrication for one of two Gateway habitation modules is nearing completion.
Leaders from NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), and the Italian Space Agency, as well as industry representatives from Northrop Grumman and Thales Alenia Space, were in Turin to assess Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) module before its primary structure is shipped from Italy to Northrop Grumman’s Gilbert, Arizona site in March. Following final outfitting and verification testing, the module will be integrated with the Power and Propulsion Element at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“Building and testing hardware for Gateway is truly an international collaboration,” said Jon Olansen, manager, Gateway Program, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We’re excited to celebrate this major flight hardware milestone, and this is just the beginning – there’s impressive and important progress taking shape with our partners around the globe, united by our shared desire to expand human exploration of our solar system while advancing scientific discovery.”
Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) in a cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. After final installations are complete, it will be packaged and transported to the United States for final outfitting before being integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element and launched to lunar orbit.Thales Alenia Space To ensure all flight hardware is ready to support Artemis IV — the first crewed mission to Gateway – NASA is targeting the launch of HALO and the Power and Propulsion Element no later than December 2027. These integrated modules will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and spend about a year traveling uncrewed to lunar orbit, while providing scientific data on solar and deep space radiation during transit.
Launching atop HALO will be ESA’s Lunar Link communication system, which will provide high-speed communication between the Moon and Gateway. The system is undergoing testing at another Thales Alenia Space facility in Cannes, France.
Once in lunar orbit, Gateway will continue scientific observations while awaiting the arrival of Artemis IV astronauts aboard an Orion spacecraft which will deliver and dock Gateway’s second pressurized habitable module, the ESA-led Lunar I-Hab. Thales Alenia Space, ESA’s primary contractor for the Lunar I-Hab and Lunar View refueling module, has begun production of the Lunar I-Hab, and design of Lunar View in Turin.
Teams from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), including NASA astronaut Stan Love (far right) and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano (far left) help conduct human factors testing inside a mockup of Gateway’s Lunar I-Hab module.Thales Alenia Space Northrop Grumman and its subcontractor, Thales Alenia Space, completed welding of HALO in 2024, and the module successfully progressed through pressure and stress tests to ensure its suitability for the harsh environment of deep space.
Maxar Space Systems is assembling the Power and Propulsion Element, which will make Gateway the most powerful solar electric propulsion spacecraft ever flown. Major progress in 2024 included installation of Xenon and chemical propulsion fuel tanks, and qualification of the largest roll-out solar arrays ever built. NASA and its partners will complete propulsion element assembly, and acceptance and verification testing of next-generation electric propulsion thrusters this year.
The main bus of Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element undergoes assembly and installations at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.Maxar Space Systems SpaceX will provide both the Starship human landing system that will land astronauts on the lunar surface during NASA’s Artemis III mission and ferry astronauts from Gateway to the lunar South Pole region during Artemis IV, as well as provide logistics spacecraft to support crewed missions.
NASA also has selected Blue Origin to develop Blue Moon, the human landing system for Artemis V, as well as logistics spacecraft for future Artemis missions. Having two distinct lunar landing designs provides flexibility and supports a regular cadence of Moon landings in preparation for future missions to Mars.
CSA (Canadian Space Agency) is developing Canadarm3, an advanced robotics system, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is designing and testing Lunar I-Hab’s vital life support systems, batteries, and a resupply and logistics vehicle called HTV-XG.
NASA’s newest Gateway partner, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the United Arab Emirates, kicked off early design for the Gateway Crew and Science Airlock that will be delivered on Artemis VI. The selection of Thales Alenia Space as its airlock prime contractor was announced by MBRSC on Feb. 4.
Development continues to advance on three radiation-focused initial science investigations aboard Gateway. These payloads will help scientists better understand unpredictable space weather from the Sun and galactic cosmic rays that will affect astronauts and equipment during Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
The Gateway lunar space station is a multi-purpose platform that offers capabilities for long-term exploration in deep space in support of NASA’s Artemis campaign and Moon to Mars objectives. Gateway will feature docking ports for a variety of visiting spacecraft, as well as space for crew to live, work, and prepare for lunar surface missions. As a testbed for future journeys to Mars, continuous investigations aboard Gateway will occur with and without crew to better understand the long-term effects of deep space radiation on vehicle systems and the human body as well as test and operate next generation spacecraft systems that will be necessary to send humans to Mars.
Learn More About Gateway Facebook logo @NASAGateway @NASA_Gateway Instagram logo @nasaartemis Share
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 ContactLaura RochonLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms
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Before Apollo astronauts set foot upon the Moon, much remained unknown about the lunar surface. While most scientists believed the Moon had a solid surface that would support astronauts and their landing craft, a few believed a deep layer of dust covered it that would swallow any visitors. Until 1964, no closeup photographs of the lunar surface existed, only those obtained by Earth-based telescopes.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, managed the Ranger program, a series of spacecraft designed to return closeup images before impacting on the Moon’s surface. Ranger 7 first accomplished that goal in July 1964. On Feb. 17, 1965, its successor Ranger 8 launched toward the Moon, and three days later returned images of the Moon. The mission’s success helped the country meet President John F. Kennedy’s goal of a human Moon landing before the end of the decade.
Schematic diagram of the Ranger 8 spacecraft, showing its major components. NASA/JPL The television system aboard Ranger 8 showing its six cameras.NASA/JPL. Launch of Ranger 8. NASA. Ranger 8 lifted off from Cape Kennedy, now Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 17, 1965. The Atlas-Agena rocket first placed the spacecraft into Earth orbit before sending it on a lunar trajectory. The next day, the spacecraft carried out a mid-course correction, and on Feb. 20, Ranger 8 reached the Moon. The spacecraft’s six cameras turned on as planned, about eight minutes earlier than its predecessor to obtain images comparable in resolution to ground-based photographs for calibration purposes. Ranger 8 took its first photograph at an altitude of 1,560 miles, and during its final 23 minutes of flight, the spacecraft sent back 7,137 images of the lunar surface. The last image, taken at an altitude of 1,600 feet and 0.28 seconds before Ranger 8 impacted at 1.67 miles per second, had a resolution of about five feet. The spacecraft impacted 16 miles from its intended target in the Sea of Tranquility, ending a flight of 248,900 miles. Scientists had an interest in this area of the Moon as a possible landing zone for a future human landing, and indeed Apollo 11 landed 44 miles southeast of the Ranger 8 impact site in July 1969.
Ranger 8’s first image from an altitude of 1,560 miles.NASA/JPL. Ranger 8 image from an altitude of 198 miles, showing craters Ritter and Sabine.NASA/JPL. Ranger 8’s final images, taken at an altitude as low as 1,600 feet. NASA/JPL. One more Ranger mission followed, Ranger 9, in March 1965. Television networks broadcast Ranger 9’s images of the Alphonsus crater and the surrounding area “live” as the spacecraft approached its impact site in the crater – letting millions of Americans see the Moon up-close as it happened. Based on the photographs returned by the last three Rangers, scientists felt confident to move on to the next phase of robotic lunar exploration, the Surveyor series of soft landers. The Ranger photographs provided confidence that the lunar surface could support a soft-landing and that the Sea of Tranquility presented a good site for the first human landing. A little more than four years after the final Ranger images, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon.
Impact sites of Rangers 7, 8, and 9. NASA/JPL. The Ranger 8 impact crater, marked by the blue circle, photographed by Lunar Orbiter 2 in 1966.NASA/JPL. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the Ranger 8 impact crater, taken in 2012 at a low sun angle.NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University. The impacts of the Ranger probes left visible craters on the lunar surface, later photographed by orbiting spacecraft. Lunar Orbiter 2 and Apollo 16 both imaged the Ranger 8 impact site at relatively low resolution in 1966 and 1972, respectively. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the crash site in greater detail in 2012.
Watch a brief video about the Ranger 8 impact on the Moon.
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How to Attend
The workshop will be hosted by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Virtual and in-person attendance are available. Registration is required for both. (Link coming soon!)
Virtual attendees will receive connection information one week before the workshop.
Background, Goals and Objectives
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is conducting an assessment of the state of cold capable electronics for future lunar surface missions. The intent is to enable the continuous use of electronics with minimal or no thermal management on missions of up to 20 years in all regions of the lunar surface, e.g., permanently shadowed regions and equatorial. The scope of the assessment includes: capture of the state of cold electronics at NASA, academia, and industry; applications and challenges for lunar environments; gap analyses of desired capabilities vs state of the art/practice; guidance for cold electronics selection, evaluation and qualification; and recommendations for technology advances and follow-on actions to close the gaps. The preliminary report of the assessment will be available the first week of April 2025 on this website, i.e., 3 weeks prior to the workshop. Attendees are urged to read the report beforehand as the workshop will provide only a limited, high-level summary of the report’s key findings. The goal of the workshop is to capture your feedback with regards to the findings of the report, especially in the areas below: Technologies, new or important studies or data that we missed. Gaps, i.e. requirements vs available capabilities that we missed. Additional recommendations, suggestions, requests, that we missed.
Preliminary Agenda
Day 1, April 30, 2025 8:00 – 9:00 Sign-in 9:00 – 10:00 Introduction – Y. Chen 10:00 – 11:00 Environment and Architectural Considerations – R. Some 11:00 – 12:00 Custom Electronics – M. Mojarradi 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 14:00 COTS Components – J. Yang-Scharlotta 14:00 – 15:00 Power Architecture – R. Oeftering 15:00 – 15:30 Energy Storage – E. Brandon 15:30 – 17:00 Materials and Packaging and Passives – L. Del Castillo 17:00 – 17:30 Qualification – Y. Chen 18:30 Dinner Day 2, May 1, 2025 8:00 – 9:00 Sign-in 9:00 – 12:00 Review and discussion of key findings 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 15:00 Follow on work concepts & discussions. Please be prepared to discuss: 15 min each from industry primes and subsystem developers What would you like to see developed and how would it impact your future missions/platforms? 15:00 – 17:30 Follow on work concepts & discussions 15 min each from technology & component developers, academia, government agencies, etc. What would you like to be funded to do and what are benefits to NASA/missions? 17:00 – 17:30 Wrap up – Y. Chen Points of Contact
If you have any questions regarding the workshop, please contact Roxanne Cena at Roxanne.R.Cena@jpl.nasa.gov and Amy K. Wilson at Amy.K.Wilson@jpl.nasa.gov
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