Tony Greicius – Lunar Trailblazer

NASA Continues Work to Command Lunar Trailblazer, Assess Options

Efforts to reestablish communications with NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer have continued since mission operators at Caltech’s IPAC lost contact with the small satellite Feb. 27, one day after launch.

The team continues to send commands to the spacecraft via NASA’s Deep Space Network, while other radio ground stations are volunteering time to “listen” for a signal from Lunar Trailblazer and track the spacecraft as it moves farther from Earth. The mission is studying the collected data to better understand Lunar Trailblazer’s orientation and rotation. Engineers also are using testbeds to study the spacecraft’s behavior during boot-up and recovery options from a low power state.

While Lunar Trailblazer’s prime science mission is no longer possible, NASA is assessing whether there are mission options for the future.

Lunar Trailblazer is a selection of NASA’s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration) competition, which provides opportunities for low-cost science spacecraft to ride-share with selected primary missions. To maintain the lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and less-stringent requirements for oversight and management. This higher risk acceptance bolsters NASA’s portfolio of targeted science missions designed to test pioneering mission approaches.

Initial Signal Acquired, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Powered Up

Mission operators at Caltech’s IPAC in Pasadena, California, have received an initial signal from NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer. This indicates that the small spacecraft has powered up. As planned, the signal was acquired by Deep Space Station 36, one of the radio frequency antennas at NASA’s Deep Space Network Canberra complex in Australia.

The operations team will now wait several hours until the spacecraft is farther away from Earth and the power levels from the Deep Space Network’s dish are appropriate for the spacecraft’s radio before attempting to establish two-way communications with Lunar Trailblazer. When two-way communications are established, the health of the spacecraft can be confirmed, and commanding can begin.

Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, the small satellite will generate the highest-ever resolution maps of the Moon’s surface water to determine the water’s location, form, abundance, and how it changes over time. These maps will also provide clues to other questions, like how and when Earth got its water, and support future lunar robotic and human exploration and commercial interests.

Weighing only 440 pounds (200 kilograms) and measuring 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) wide when its solar panels are fully deployed, Lunar Trailblazer will orbit the Moon about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the surface.

To read more about today’s IM-2 launch, please visit https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/artemis/

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Spacecraft Separates From Falcon 9 Second Stage

The second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 completed its Earth departure burn, and NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft has separated from it and is flying independently. The spacecraft is now expected to carry out a series of automated processes, including powering itself up, deploying its solar arrays, and orienting them toward the Sun.

Starting about 30 minutes after separation, the mission’s operations team will work to receive an initial signal from the spacecraft. Once initial contact has been made, it will be several more hours until two-way communications can be established and detailed telemetry checks are carried out.

Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, the small satellite will arrive at the Moon in about four months to generate the highest-ever resolution maps of the Moon’s surface water to determine the water’s location, form, abundance, and how it changes over time. These maps will also provide clues to other questions, like how and when Earth got its water, and support future lunar robotic and human exploration and commercial interests.

To read more about today’s IM-2 launch, please visit
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/artemis/