With the Space Launch System (SLS) ready to return to the launch pad for its maiden journey to the Moon, it will not be alone. Before humans set foot inside the rocket ship and return to Moon, a shoebox-sized satellite will lay the groundwork for them. Lunar IceCube will hitch a ride on SLS to the Moon.
The CubeSat is a water-scouting probe, which will investigate lunar ice as scientists are interested in understanding the ice dynamics in the airless world of Earth's natural satellite. The probe has been integrated with the Space Launch System (SLS) and is ready for its first flight.
"Scientists are interested in the absorption and release of water from the regolith — the Moon’s rocky and dusty surface. With Lunar IceCube investigating this process, we can map these changes as they occur on the Moon," Nasa said in a statement.
The spacecraft will use a spectrometer to investigate lunar ice and build on the work done by other missions including India's Chandrayaan, which first found evidence of water on the lunar surface. Meanwhile, data from Nasa's SOFIA mission confirmed water exists in the sunlit area of the lunar surface as molecules of H2O embedded within, or perhaps sticking to the surface of, grains of lunar dust.
The spacecraft will also study the exosphere — the very thin atmosphere-like volume surrounding the Moon and by understanding the dynamics of water and other substances on the Moon, scientists will be able to predict seasonal changes in lunar ice. The CubeSat, which weighs nearly 15 kilograms, will be joined by nine others.
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On October 16, 2021, as the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket deployed the Lucy spacecraft successfully, engineers were in a mood of jubilation, but it was all about to change. Just hours into its flight, the spacecraft beamed back data that showed an anomaly as it traveled away from the planet.
While no one knew it at the time, one of the solar panels - designed like a hand fan - had not fully opened and the 12-year-long flight that was to be powered by solar energy all along had already started having hiccups. With the spacecraft on its way towards Trojan asteroids, the question on Earth began rising.
What happened? Was the array open at all? Was there a way to fix it? Would Lucy be able to safely perform the maneuvers needed to accomplish its science mission without a fully deployed array?
Before reaching its destination, the spacecraft will have to conduct three Earth flybys for a gravity assist, making it the first spacecraft to return to our planet's vicinity from the outer solar system. Between 2027 and 2033, it will encounter seven Trojan asteroids -- five in the swarm that leads to Jupiter, and two in the swarm that trails the gas giant.
HIGHLIGHTS
The CubeSat is a water-scouting prob
The probe has been integrated with the Space Launch System
The spacecraft will use a spectrometer to investigate lunar ice.
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