About LunaH-Map

LunaH-Map is a NASA planetary science mission with a fully functional interplanetary spacecraft the size of a shoebox. Its mission is to map hydrogen enrichments within permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. The spacecraft will use a miniaturized propulsion system, attitude control, power and communications systems to maneuver into orbit around the moon.

LunaH-Map will enter a low altitude, elliptical polar orbit and will measure the abundance of hydrogen using a new type of compact neutron spectrometer. Neutron measurements made at low altitude over the lunar south pole will allow LunaH-Map to constrain the hydrogen within permanently shadowed regions at unprecedented spatial resolution.

Decades of lunar exploration have proven that there are water ice enrichments in certain regions around the poles of our moon. Some of these regions, called "permanently shadowed regions" (or PSRs) at the lunar south pole may contain enough water to change our view of the formation and evolution of the moon, or they may contain enough water to support future human and robotic exploration of the solar system.

In addition to the ASU team, AZ Space Technologies and Qwaltec, the mission includes engineering and operations professionals from KinetX, and other U.S. commercial space companies and NASA centers.

Karin Valentine

Media Relations & Marketing manager, School of Earth and Space Exploration

480-965-9345