On Wednesday 26 February, a thermal imaging camera built by researchers at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics will blast off to the Moon as part of NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission . This aims to map sources of water on the Moon to shed light on the lunar water cycle and to guide future robotic and human missions.
Once in orbit, the spacecraft – weighing 200kg and about the size of a washing machine- will map the surface temperature and composition of the lunar surface 12 times a day, at a resolution of 50 metres. Using cutting-edge instruments, it will examine features including the permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's South Pole, which could contain significant quantities ( potentially 600 million metric tons ) of water ice. This could be used in various ways, from purifying it as drinking water to processing it for fuel and breathable oxygen for future human Moon landings.
One of the two principal instruments, the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) , was constructed by researchers in the Planetary Experiments Group at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics. This will measure the surface temperature and the various minerals that make up the lunar landscape, to help confirm the presence and location of water. The instrument will work in tandem with NASA/JPL's High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper ( HVM3
