Their research could be crucial for future crewed missions to the moon.
."This is not only important for science, but it could also be important for reducing the cost of human missions over the long-term."
The mission will also test a new ion propulsion thruster, which"operates electrically using small amounts of propellant to give a small push and drive the spacecraft along its path, similar to that of butterfly wings," according to NASA. "Interplanetary exploration with CubeSats is possible through the use of innovative propulsion systems and creative trajectories," Benjamin Malphrus, executive director of the Space Science Center at Morehead State University, said in the statement."The ion propulsion system is an enabling technology that will open the door to solar system exploration with small satellite platforms, ushering in a new era of space exploration.
The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper , on the other hand, will be studying previously identified potential areas of water ice at the moon's south pole. The 30-pound cubesat is being developed by Arizona State University. "We know from previous missions there is an increased abundance of hydrogen at the lunar poles," Craig Hardgrove, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University and the mission's principal investigator, said in a
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