Cislunar Explorers is a pair of spacecraft that will show the viability of
water electrolysis propulsion and interplanetary optical navigation to orbit the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
.
Both spacecraft will launch mated together as two L-shaped 3U CubeSats, which fit together as a 6U
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...
of about 10 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm.
The technology demonstrator spacecraft pair is being developed at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, by a team of researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates.
The spacecraft were originally intended to launch onboard the
Artemis 1
Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched in November 2022. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis I marked the agency's return to lunar exploration a ...
mission into a
heliocentric orbit
A heliocentric orbit (also called circumsolar orbit) is an orbit around the barycenter of the Solar System, which is usually located within or very near the surface of the Sun. All planets, comets, and asteroids in the Solar System, and the Sun ...
in
cislunar space in 2022; delays caused by difficulties during integration led to their removal from the Artemis 1 manifest; a new launch provider has not yet been chosen.
Water powered
The two spacecraft feature an unusual
water electrolysis propulsion system that splits the bond between
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
and
oxygen
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
, producing combustible gaseous mixture that can be used as engine propellant.
[ ] This
propulsion system will be used to enter lunar orbit. The mission designers comment that if this water-based propulsion technology is successful, it may enable ''
in situ
is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...
'' resources for refueling landers for commercial or science purposes.
Such a spacecraft could refuel at space-bound water sources, like asteroids, instead of bringing all the needed fuel along with it from
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
.
Optical navigation
Since the purpose of the ''Cislunar Explorers'' is to test a novel propulsion system, they will simply be injected in "any lunar orbit" and maintain it for as long as possible. ''Cislunar Explorers'' will navigate completely autonomously, with minimal control from Earth. ''Cislunar Explorers'' will each use commercial cameras that enable them to view the Earth, the Moon, and the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
. By computing the sizes of each of these objects and their locations relative to one another, the two spacecraft will deduce their locations.
See also
;The 10
CubeSat
A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...
s flying in the
Artemis 1
Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched in November 2022. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis I marked the agency's return to lunar exploration a ...
mission:
*
Near-Earth Asteroid Scout by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
is a
solar sail
Solar sails (also known as lightsails, light sails, and photon sails) are a method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. A number of spaceflight missions to test solar propulsion and navigati ...
spacecraft that will encounter a
near-Earth asteroid
A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit aro ...
*
BioSentinel is an
astrobiology
Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the List of life sciences, life and environmental sciences that studies the abiogenesis, origins, Protocell, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the univ ...
mission
*
LunIR by
Lockheed Martin Space
*
Lunar IceCube, by the
Morehead State University
Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...
*
CubeSat for Solar Particles (CuSP)
*
Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map), designed by the
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
*
EQUULEUS
Equuleus is a faint constellation located just north of the celestial equator. Its name is Latin for "little horse", a foal. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern const ...
, submitted by
JAXA
The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...
and the
University of Tokyo
The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
*
OMOTENASHI, submitted by JAXA, was a lunar lander (mission failure)
*
ArgoMoon, designed by
Argotec
Argotec is an Italian aerospace engineering company, founded in 2008 in Turin, Italy by David Avino, with offices in Maryland and Florida, USA and operations at EAC in Cologne, Germany. The company is engaged in the production of small satellites ...
and coordinated by
Italian Space Agency
The Italian Space Agency (; ASI) is a government agency established in 1988 to fund, regulate and coordinate space exploration activities in Italy. The agency cooperates with numerous national and international entities who are active in aerospac ...
(ASI)
*
Team Miles, by Fluid and Reason LLC,
Tampa, Florida
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
;The 3 CubeSat missions removed from Artemis 1:
*
Lunar Flashlight will map exposed water ice on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
* Cislunar Explorers,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
*
Earth Escape Explorer (CU-E
3),
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...
;Other water-based propelled spacecraft
*
Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator
NASA's Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) Project is a series of Tech demo, tech demonstrations of technologies aboard a series of nanosatellites known as CubeSats, providing significant enhancements to the performance of these versatile s ...
*
World Is Not Enough (spacecraft propulsion)
References
{{Future spaceflights
CubeSats
Missions to the Moon
Proposed NASA space probes
2023 in spaceflight
2023 in the United States
Secondary payloads