LunIR

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LunIR
SkyFire lunar CubeSat.jpg
The LunIR CubeSat, which will characterize and collect lunar surface data.
NamesSkyFire
Mission type Technology demonstrator, reconnaissance
Operator Lockheed Martin Space
COSPAR ID 2022-156K OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 57686
Mission duration1 year, 2 months and 6 days (in progress)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft CubeSat
Spacecraft type6U CubeSat
Bus Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems
Manufacturer Lockheed Martin Space
Launch mass14 kg (31 lb)
Dimensions10 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm
Start of mission
Launch date16 November 2022, 06:47:44 UTC [1]
Rocket SLS Block 1
Launch site KSC, LC-39B
Contractor NASA
Flyby of Moon
 

LunIR (Lunar InfraRed Imaging, formerly known as SkyFire) is a nanosatellite spacecraft launched to the Moon collecting surface spectroscopy and thermography. It was launched as a secondary payload on the Artemis 1 mission on 16 November 2022. [1] [2]

Contents

Mission

LunIR is a technology demonstration mission funded by NASA that uses a low-cost 6U CubeSat spacecraft. LunIR will perform a lunar flyby, collecting spectroscopy and thermography for surface characterization, remote sensing, and site selection. [3] The spacecraft includes two deployable solar panels and will have a total mass of about 14 kg (31 lb).

LunIR was selected in April 2015 by NASA's NextSTEP program (Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships) and awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Space worth US$1.4 million for further development. [4] [5] [6]

LunIR will communicate with Earth via ground stations operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services. LunIR will use 13-meter-diameter radio antennas located in Punta Arenas, Chile; Svalbard, Norway; and Troll station, Antarctica. [7] [8]

Launch

LunIR was launched as one of ten CubeSats as a secondary payload on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System, Artemis 1. [2]

Propulsion

LunIR will demonstrate a low thrust electric propulsion technology called electrospray propulsion to lower the spacecraft's orbit for additional science and technology mission objectives. [9]

See also

The 10 CubeSats flying in the Artemis 1 mission
The three CubeSat missions removed from Artemis 1

Related Research Articles

The (Japanese) Lunar Exploration Program is a program of robotic and human missions to the Moon undertaken by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its division, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). It is also one of the three major enterprises of the JAXA Space Exploration Center (JSPEC). The main goal of the program is "to elucidate the origin and evolution of the Moon and utilize the Moon in the future".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis 1</span> 2022 uncrewed Moon-orbiting NASA mission

Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the agency's return to lunar exploration after the conclusion of the Apollo program five decades earlier. It was the first integrated flight test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and its main objective was to test the Orion spacecraft, especially its heat shield, in preparation for subsequent Artemis missions. These missions seek to reestablish a human presence on the Moon and demonstrate technologies and business approaches needed for future scientific studies, including exploration of Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-Earth Asteroid Scout</span> Solar sail spacecraft

The Near-Earth Asteroid Scout was a mission by NASA to develop a controllable low-cost CubeSat solar sail spacecraft capable of encountering near-Earth asteroids (NEA). NEA Scout was one of ten CubeSats launched into a heliocentric orbit on Artemis 1, the maiden flight of the Space Launch System, on 16 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar Flashlight</span> Lunar orbiter by NASA

Lunar Flashlight was a low-cost CubeSat lunar orbiter mission to explore, locate, and estimate size and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon for future exploitation by robots or humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BioSentinel</span> US experimental astrobiology research satellite

BioSentinel is a lowcost CubeSat spacecraft on a astrobiology mission that will use budding yeast to detect, measure, and compare the impact of deep space radiation on DNA repair over long time beyond low Earth orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar IceCube</span> Nanosatellite launched in 2022

Lunar IceCube is a NASA nanosatellite orbiter mission that was intended to prospect, locate, and estimate amount and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon for future exploitation. It was launched as a secondary payload mission on Artemis 1, the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), on 16 November 2022. As of February 2023 it's unknown whether NASA team has contact with satellite or not.

Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems was an American company designing and building satellites. It started as a designer, builder and provider of nanosatellite and CubeSat space vehicle products and services for government and commercial customers. Tyvak was based in Irvine, California. It was a subsidiary of Terran Orbital Corporation. In 2022, it was announced that Tyvak would transition into larger satellites from nanosats and cubesats and the name Tyvak would be phased out in favor of the name of the parent company Terran Orbital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CubeSat for Solar Particles</span> Nanosatellite

CubeSat for Solar Particles (CuSP) was a low-cost 6U CubeSat to orbit the Sun to study the dynamic particles and magnetic fields. The principal investigator for CuSP is Mihir Desai, at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas. It was launched on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System (SLS), as a secondary payload of the Artemis 1 mission on 16 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper</span> US Moon-orbiting ice-finding satellite

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart Lander for Investigating Moon</span> Japanese lunar lander mission

Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In 2017 the plan was for the lander to be launched in 2021, but this was postponed to 2023 because of delays in SLIM's ride share, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC, XRISM successfully launched. SLIM separated from XRISM later that same day. On 1 October 2023 SLIM executed its trans-lunar orbit injection burns. The lander successfully entered lunar orbit on 25 December 2023 and landed on 19 January 2024 at 15:20 UTC, making Japan the fifth country to soft land on the Moon.

<i>ArgoMoon</i> Nanosatellite

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">EQUULEUS</span> Japanese nanosatellite

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">OMOTENASHI</span> Small spacecraft and semi-hard lander of the 6U CubeSat format

OMOTENASHI was a small spacecraft and semi-hard lander of the 6U CubeSat format intended to demonstrate low-cost technology to land and explore the lunar surface. The CubeSat was to take measurements of the radiation environment near the Moon as well as on the lunar surface. Omotenashi is a Japanese word for "welcome" or "Hospitality".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAPSTONE</span> NASA satellite to test the Lunar Gateway orbit

CAPSTONE is a lunar orbiter that will test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Lunar Gateway space station. The spacecraft is a 12-unit CubeSat that will also test a navigation system that will measure its position relative to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) without relying on ground stations. It was launched on 28 June 2022, arrived in lunar orbit on 14 November 2022, and was scheduled to orbit for six months. On 18 May 2023, it completed its primary mission to orbit in the near-rectilinear halo orbit for six months, but will stay on this orbit, continuing to perform experiments during an enhanced mission phase.

References

  1. 1 2 Roulette, Joey; Gorman, Steve (16 November 2022). "NASA's next-generation Artemis mission heads to moon on debut test flight". Reuters. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (12 October 2021). "Adapter structure with 10 CubeSats installed on top of Artemis moon rocket". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  3. Williams, Greg; Crusan, Jason (April 2015). "Pioneering Space – Evolvable Mars Campaign" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 9 March 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. Morring, Frank (24 April 2015). "Habitats Could Be NASA's Next Commercial Spacecraft Buy". Aviation Week. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. Clark, Stephen (8 April 2015). "NASA adding to list of CubeSats flying on first SLS mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. Krebs, Gunter (18 May 2020). "LunIR (SkyFire)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  7. "KSAT to support NASA LunIR mission". SpaceNews. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  8. "KSAT to provide Ground Network support for the LunIR mission". www.ksat.no. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  9. "Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) Projects". NASA. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2021.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .