What is Lunar Flashlight Mission of NASA?
To determine the presence and nature of water ice at the bottom of some of the Moon's craters, NASA will use a small spacecraft named Lunar Flashlight which will fly as a secondary payload aboard NASA’s Artemis I mission. This small spacecraft will use lasers to help find water in the Moon. The presence of water will help as an essential local resource for future crews to use for drinking water and fuel.
When the spacecraft will pass low over regions of lunar South Pole, it will distinguish water ice from dry soil, called regolith, by observing whether light reflects off of the crater surfaces (indicating regolith) or is absorbed (indicating water ice deposits). Scientists want to use local resources of the Moon instead of transporting materials from earth to build and sustain remote human outposts.
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Lunar Flashlight spacecraft will use Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic (ASCENT) which is a “green” monopropellant, or a chemical propellant that does not require a separate oxidizer to burn. ASCENT provides significantly enhanced performance at a lower level of toxicity than hydrazine, a conventional propellant.
This mission is not only all about finding water ice in the Moon but it will also help to understand the Moon's environment. This mission will also provide insight into the Moon's evolution and interaction with its environment that included exchanges with comets, asteroids, and solar wind containing similar volatile substances. The volatile deposits have been found in the dark, cold craters on the Moon’s surface which is also called cold traps. Scientists believe those cold traps could also hold information about the origin of water on Earth and on the Moon.
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