Ilustração de um cubo de gelo lunar em órbita verificando o gelo lunar. Crédito: Morehead State University

cubos de gelo lunar[{” attribute=””>NASA’s water-scouting CubeSat, is now poised to hitch a ride to lunar orbit. Although it is not much bigger than a shoe box, Lunar IceCube’s data will have an outsized impact on lunar science.

The satellite is integrated into the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ready to journey to the Moon as part of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, launching this year.

Lunar IceCube will orbit the Moon and use a spectrometer to investigate lunar ice. Earlier missions already revealed water ice on the Moon, but Lunar IceCube will further NASA’s knowledge about lunar ice dynamics.

Scientists are especially interested in the absorption and release of water from the regolith — the Moon’s rocky and dusty surface. With Lunar IceCube investigating this process, NASA can map these changes as they occur on the Moon.

A missão Lunar IceCube da NASA viajará para a Lua como uma carga secundária na missão Artemis I. Crédito: Goddard Space Flight Center da NASA

O Lunar IceCube também examinará a exosfera – o volume muito fino que se assemelha à atmosfera ao redor da Lua. Ao entender a dinâmica da água e de outros materiais na Lua, os pesquisadores poderão prever mudanças sazonais no gelo lunar que podem afetar seu uso como recurso no futuro.

Tudo isso virá do CubeSat eficiente e econômico que pesa apenas 14 kg (31 lb). Lunar IceCube é apenas um dos vários Cubesats Acompanhe uma viagem à lua a bordo do Artemis I. Esses pequenos satélites, juntamente com as futuras missões do Artemis, aumentarão nosso conhecimento sobre viver e trabalhar na lua e, eventualmente, ajudarão a preparar exploradores humanos para[{” attribute=””>Mars.

Lunar IceCube is funded by NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships program, or NextSTEP, in support of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. The Lunar IceCube mission is led by Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia; and Busek Space Propulsion and Systems in Natick, Massachusetts.