SpacecraftMoonEnded
Lunar Flashlight
NASA/JPL CubeSat launched on 11 December 2022 to seek surface ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole. Its propulsion system could not produce enough thrust to reach lunar orbit, likely because of debris in the thruster fuel lines, and NASA ended the mission in May 2023; NASA reports that several of its technology demonstrations met or exceeded goals.
Objective. Seek out surface ice in permanently shadowed craters of the lunar south pole while demonstrating new small-spacecraft technologies.
Targeted
Facts
- Kind
- Spacecraft
- Mission type
- Prospecting
- Target
- MoonPermanently shadowed craters, lunar south pole (never reached)
- Launch
- 2022-12-11
- Phase
- EndedJPL release of 2023-05-12 announcing the end of the mission.
- Outcome
- FailureBasis: agency statement
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
Outcome statement (agency statement)
Because the CubeSat cannot complete maneuvers to stay in the Earth-Moon system, NASA has called an end to the mission.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Operator |
Resources and evidence
| Resource | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Water ice | Targeted |
Open evidence gaps
- Exact end-of-mission date not given in the JPL release (published 2023-05-12).
Sources
2 sourcesBecause the CubeSat cannot complete maneuvers to stay in the Earth-Moon system, NASA has called an end to the mission.
NASA's Lunar Flashlight launched on Dec. 11, 2022, to demonstrate several new technologies, with an ultimate goal to seek out surface ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon's South Pole.