The SmallSat will use a four-laser reflectometer, with near-infrared wavelengths that are easily absorbed by water, to identify ice on the Moon’s surface.
In a few weeks, a small satellite will shine a light on the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon, looking for reservoirs of water ice that could be highly beneficial to astronauts.
NASA’s Lunar Flashlight, the size of a small briefcase, is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida between November 9 and 15 with the Japanese Hakuto-R lander and United Arab Emirate’s Rashid 1 rover.
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