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Lunar Trailblazer

retired
Science ExplorationcislunarCOSPAR 2025-038CLaunched 2/27/2025
Admin Edit
Mission & Launch
Launch Mission
IM-2
Launch Vehicle
Falcon 9 FT5
Launch Date
2/27/2025
Last Contact
2/27/2025
Orbit & Mass
Orbit Class
cislunar
Altitude
180,903 km
Inclination
28.5 deg
Dry Mass
100 kg
Total Mass
210 kg
Payload Classification
Mission Type
Science Exploration
Payload Category
PLAN
Payload Class
A
Organizations
Operator
California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
Manufacturer
Lockheed Martin
Registry
COSPAR ID
2025-038C
UN Registration
ST/SG/SER.E/1287
Track
Mentions
48
All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.
0.0-5.0
Actions

Lunar Trailblazer passed its systems integration review in May and is scheduled to be completed in early 2023.

PlanValue 4.0Jun 22, 2022NASA moves up Lunar Trailblazer launch

Lunar Trailblazer is one of three missions NASA selected in 2019 as part of the Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program.

Plan
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General
Value 4.0
Jun 22, 2022
NASA moves up Lunar Trailblazer launch

Lunar Trailblazer is scheduled for completion late 2022 but will not launch until early 2025 because of delays in the primary payload of its rideshare mission, the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Jun 9, 2022Psyche launch delay forcing revamp of rideshare mission

Lunar Trailblazer was scheduled to be ready for launch in late 2022 but is planned to fly in early 2025 as part of a NASA rideshare mission whose primary payload is the IMAP space science spacecraft.

PlanGeneralValue 4.0Sep 21, 2021NASA picks landing site for VIPER lunar rover

The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft was scheduled to be completed in October 2022.

PlanValue 3.5Mar 26, 2021NASA looking for earlier launch of lunar orbiter smallsat mission

Lunar Trailblazer is part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, which in 2019 selected Lunar Trailblazer and two other mission concepts for development.

PlanGeneralValue 3.6Mar 26, 2021NASA looking for earlier launch of lunar orbiter smallsat mission

Lunar Trailblazer will not launch until at least February 2025 because it is flying as a rideshare payload on the Falcon 9 launch of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).

PlanCapabilityValue 4.0Mar 26, 2021NASA looking for earlier launch of lunar orbiter smallsat mission

Lunar Trailblazer, developed by Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is a lunar orbiter designed to map water ice deposits using advanced infrared instruments.

CapabilityGeneralValue 5.0Jun 27, 2019NASA selects planetary mission proposals large and small