 Rendering of the LunaH-Map spacecraft | |
| Names | LunaH-Map |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
| Operator | Arizona State University |
| COSPAR ID | 2022-156J |
| SATCATno. | 57685 |
| Website | lunahmap |
| Mission duration | 96 days (planned) 6 months (final) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | LunaH-Map |
| Spacecraft type | CubeSat |
| Bus | 6U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Arizona State University |
| Launch mass | 14 kg (31 lb)[1] |
| Dimensions | 10 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm (3.9 in × 7.9 in × 11.8 in) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 16 November 2022, 06:47:44 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | SLS Block 1 |
| Launch site | KSC,LC-39B |
| Contractor | NASA |
| End of mission | |
| Declared | 8 August 2023[3] |
| Last contact | May 2023[3] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric orbit (planned, never achieved) |
| Regime | Polar orbit |
| Periselene altitude | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Inclination | 90° |
| Period | 10 hours |
 LunaH-Map mission logo | |
Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper, orLunaH-Map, was one of the 10CubeSats launched withArtemis 1 on 16 November 2022.[2][4] Along withLunar IceCube andLunIR, LunaH-Map will help investigate the possible presence ofwater-ice on the Moon.[1]Arizona State University began development of LunaH-Map after being awarded a contract byNASA in early 2015. The development team consisted of about 20 professionals and students led by Craig Hardgrove, the principal investigator.[5] The mission is a part of NASA'sSIMPLEx program.[6]
Probably due to months of launch delays of the Artemis I spacecraft after CubeSats had already been installed on its rocket,[7] the propulsion system failed to fire when needed to insert the probe into lunar orbit. The satellite thus failed its primary science mission, but successfully demonstrated itsneutron spectrometer technology, which will be used on future missions.[3]
LunaH-Map's primary objective was to map the abundance of hydrogen down to one meter beneath the surface of thelunar south pole. It was intended to be inserted into apolar orbit around theMoon, with itsperiselene located near the lunar south pole, initially passing aboveShackleton crater.[1] LunaH-Map will provide a high resolution map of the abundance and distribution ofhydrogen rich compounds, like water, in this region of the Moon and expand on the less accurate maps made by previous missions. This information may then be used to improve scientific understanding of how water is created and spread throughout theSolar System or used by future crewed missions for life support and fuel production.[8]
Results from LunaH-Map, along with other long distance CubeSat missions likeMars Cube One, are being used to inform the design of future interplanetary CubeSats.[9]
LunaH-Map was conceived in a discussion between Craig Hardgrove and future LunaH-Map chief engineer, Igor Lazbin, about issues with the spatial resolution of variousneutron detectors in use aroundMars. Instruments likeDynamic Albedo of Neutrons on theCuriosity rover can only make measurements of about 3 m (9.8 ft) in radius from between the rear wheels of the rover, while on orbit neutron detectors, like the High Energy Neutron Detector on the2001 Mars Odyssey probe, can only provide large, inaccurate maps over hundreds of square kilometers.[8] Similar issues are present in current maps of hydrogen distributions on the Moon, so Hardgrove designed LunaH-Map to orbit closer to the lunar south pole than previous crafts to improve the resolution of these maps.
By April 2015, Hardgrove had assembled a team composed of members of various government, academic and private institutions and drafted a proposal to NASA. In early 2015, LunaH-Map was one of two CubeSats chosen by NASA'sScience Mission Directorate through theSmall Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, along withQ-PACE.[8][10]
Because of the scope of this mission, several unique challenges needed to be addressed in implementing hardware. Typicallow Earth orbit (LEO) CubeSats can useoff-the-shelf hardware, or parts available commercially for other uses, but because LunaH-Map was intended to run longer and travel further than most LEO CubSat missions, commercial parts could not be expected to perform reliably for the mission duration unmodified. Also, unlike most conventional CubeSats, LunaH-Map needed to navigate to its desired orbit after leaving thelaunch vehicle, so it needed to be equipped with its own propulsion system.[11]
The primary science instrument was ascintillation neutron detector composed of elpasolite (Cs2YLiCl6:Ce or CLYC). This material is ascintillator, which measurably glows when it interacts withthermal andepithermal neutrons. LunaH-Map's neutron detector will consist of an array of eight 2.5 × 2.5 × 2 cm CLYC scintillators.[12][13]
Multiple new technologies were tested by LunaH-Map in addition to its primary instrument. The CubeSat was equipped with a Busek-built ion thruster powered by Iodine fuel. The iodine was stored in a solid form.[14][15] Auto navigation software and a new method for determining spacecraft locations using DSN were also tested during the mission.[15][16]
LunaH-Map launched with Artemis 1 from Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022. It was deployed from the Orion Stage Adapter 5 hours and 33 minutes after launch. Ground controllers were able to contact the CubeSat soon after using NASA's Deep Space Network. They began commissioning spacecraft systems but ran into problems with the propulsion system. As a result LunaH-Map didn't perform the maneuver it was scheduled to during its lunar flyby on November 21.[17]
In spite of the fault with the propulsion system, LunaH-Map returned some data, including neutrons detected during its flyby, and high-altitude images of the moon taken with its star tracker. As of November 2022, NASA planned to conduct an auto-navigation experiment and ranging tests with theDeep Space Network.[17]
The spacecraft missed its second opportunity for lunar orbital insertion in January, 2023, and was then considered for anear-Earth asteroid mission.[7] Six months of attempts to unstick the propulsion valve by heating it failed, and NASA ceased operations on the mission in May 2023.[3] The spacecraft entered a stable orbit around the Sun.[18]The neutron spectrometer technology successfully demonstrated by LunaH-Map was planned for inclusion onLunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE).[18]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.2022 in space | ||
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