NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is scheduled to start orbiting the Moon in 2025, focusing on the investigation of water's presence and distribution on the lunar surface.

Managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and led by Caltech, the mission also benefits from significant contributions from Lockheed Martin Space and the UK Space Agency.

The mission aims to produce detailed maps of the Moon's surface water, enhancing our understanding of its abundance, location, form, and temporal changes.

The potential processing of lunar ice for breathable oxygen and fuel could have significant implications for scientific research into the origins of lunar water.

Bethany Ehlmann, the principal investigator at Caltech, highlights the importance of understanding lunar water for future human and robotic exploration on the Moon and beyond.

Rachel Klima, deputy principal investigator at Johns Hopkins, points out that studying lunar ice could provide insights into the Moon's water history, akin to Earth's glacial ice cores.

Understanding the movement of water molecules on the Moon, whether freely or locked in rock, is essential for grasping the lunar water cycle and may inform water cycles on other airless bodies like asteroids.

Two key instruments on board, the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) and the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM), will enable detailed analysis of lunar water.

HVM3 will map the spectral fingerprints of minerals and water on the surface, while LTM will measure the thermal properties and surface temperature of the Moon.

The spacecraft has recently passed a critical operational readiness review and is currently undergoing flight system software tests in preparation for its launch alongside the Intuitive Machines-2 mission.

Lunar Trailblazer, weighing 440 pounds and measuring 11.5 feet wide, will orbit approximately 60 miles above the Moon's surface and was selected for NASA's SIMPLEx program in 2019.