NASA Sending Five Payloads to Moon on Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lander
present. Payload principal investigator: Dr. Anthony Colaprete, NASA’s Ames Research Center
The NSS (Neutron Spectrometer System) is an instrument capable of indirectly detecting potential water present in the lunar soil at the landing site, as a result of the water in the exhaust deposited by the lander’s engines. After landing, the system will measure any changes in the characteristics of the lunar soil over the course of a lunar day. Payload principal investigator: Dr. Richard Elphic, NASA Ames
PITMS (Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer) will investigate the makeup of compounds in the thin lunar atmosphere after descent and landing, and throughout the lunar day, to understand the release and movement of volatiles such as water, gases, and other chemical compounds. PITMS is a partnership between NASA, The Open University in Milton Keynes, England, and ESA (European Space Agency). Payload principal investigator: Dr. Barbara Cohen, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) is a collection of eight retroreflectors that enable precise measurements of the distance between the orbiting or landing spacecraft and the lander. LRA is a passive optical instrument and will function as a permanent location marker on the Moon for decades to come. Payload principal investigator: Dr. Xiaoli Sun, NASA Goddard
Astrobotic is one of 14 vendors eligible to carry NASA payloads to the Moon through the CLPS initiative, which began in 2018 and is designed to establish a commercial marketplace for science, exploration, and technology development investigations on the Moon’s surface and in lunar orbit. Through CLPS, NASA aims to gain new insights into the lunar environment and expand the lunar economy to support future crewed missions under the Artemis program.
Learn more about NASA’s CLPS initiative at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercial-lunar-payload-services/
