The mission could also provide insights into how lunar water was formed, whether through comets or volcanic activity, based on its chemical composition.

Overall, Lunar Trailblazer will enhance our understanding of the lunar water cycle and its implications for future lunar exploration.

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is scheduled to begin orbiting the Moon in 2025, with the primary goal of investigating the presence and distribution of water on the lunar surface.

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

Recently, the spacecraft 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.

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

Principal investigator Bethany Ehlmann emphasizes that understanding lunar water is crucial for establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon and for future exploration.

The mission aims to provide detailed maps of the Moon's surface water, which could be processed for breathable oxygen and fuel, thereby supporting scientific research on the origins of lunar water.

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

Two key instruments onboard, the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) and the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM), will facilitate detailed analysis of lunar water by mapping the spectral fingerprints of minerals and measuring surface temperatures.

Lunar Trailblazer will study the movement of water on the Moon, investigating whether it is stored in minerals or migrates across the surface, potentially forming frost or evaporating in cycles.

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