# An Overview of CubeSat Missions and Applications
## 7 CubeSats as Deep-Space Exploration Platforms
### The Role of CubeSats in Lunar Exploration Missions
These ten CubeSats can be seen in their deployment pods on the inside of the Orion stage adapter ring of SLS's ICPS in Figure 19.  
Figure 18: An illustration of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat in its deployed configuration. Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter [252]. One of the CubeSats launched on Artemis I was the Lunar Infrared (LunIR) imaging CubeSat which was developed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems (Littleton, CO, USA) and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. Its payload included a low-cost, MWIR sensory instrument, developed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems which is capable of operating in both night and day, it is intended for missions that involve the mapping the surface of celestial bodies and the detection of the presence of materials on them, as well as for the identification of potential landing sites. LunIR was sent on a lunar fly-by trajectory and was tasked with the mission of acquiring spectroscopy and thermography data from the lunar surface that would demonstrate the effectiveness of its MWIR payload and its potential to be used for future missions of surface characterization and remote sensing in both the Moon and Mars. However, the occurrence of an unexpected communications issue during the lunar fly-by prohibited the satellite from acquiring the intended data from the lunar surface. Despite the inability of capturing image data of the Moon's surface, Lockheed Martin still considered the mission successful as it demonstrated the successful integration of the MWIR payload on a CubeSat platform [255; 256; 257]. Another lunar exploration CubeSat present onboard Artemis I was the Lunar IceCube. This 6U CubeSat, which was jointly developed by Morehead State University, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and JPL, was equipped with the 1.5U-sized Broadband Infrared Compact High Resolution Exploration Spectrometer (BIRCHES), under the mission of investigating the distribution of water, ice, and other volatile compounds such as NH\({}_{3}\), H\({}_{2}\)S, CO\({}_{2}\), and CH\({}_{4}\) on the lunar regolith through spectral determination. Furthermore, the Lunar IceCube would use its scientific payload to map the distribution of said volatiles as a function latitude, local time, as well as regolith age. After its deployment, Morehead State University managed to establish a brief contact with the satellite for a period of about an hour, but a large offset from the predicted frequency was observed followed by loss of signal. Since that point, the status of the Lunar IceCube remains unknown [258; 259]. One more lunar exploration CubeSat hosted as a secondary Artemis I payload was the Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor (OMOTENASHI). This CubeSat was part of a technology demonstration mission developed by JAXA and the University of Tokyo. The OMOTENASHI CubeSat was made up of three distinct modules. The main one was the 6U bus which featured a cold gas thruster that would be used to place the OMOTENASHI in a lunar-impact orbit. After  
Figure 19: The ten CubeSats carried as secondary payloads of the Artemis I mission inside the Orion stage adapter of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). Photo by NASA/Cory Huston [254]. orbital insertion, the other two modules, namely the landing probe and a solid rocket motor, would detach from the 6U bus and the motor would decelerate the landing probe even further. Eventually, the landing probe would eventually detach from the motor and perform a semi-hard landing on the lunar surface with an expected velocity between 20 m/s and 30 m/s. Before the final impact on the Moon's surface, the landing probe would deploy an airbag that would mitigate its effects on the instruments. During the entire landing sequence, the OMOTENASHI's landing probe would utilize its instruments to perform measurements of the radiation environment, with radiation measurements also performed on the lunar surface after the landing.