LunIR
LunIR is a planned nanosatellite spacecraft that will fly by the Moon and collect surface spectroscopy and thermography. It is planned to fly as a secondary payload on the Artemis 1 mission in 2022. Mission. LunIR is a technology demonstration mission funded by NASA that using a low-cost 6U CubeSat spacecraft. LunIR will perform a lunar flyby, collecting spectroscopy and thermography for surface characterization, remote sensing, and site selection. The spacecraft includes two deployable solar panels and will have a total mass of about . LunIR was selected in April 2015 by NASA's NextSTEP program (Next Space Technologies  for Exploration Partnerships) and awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Space worth US$1.4 million for further development. LunIR will communicate with Earth via ground stations operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services. LunIR will use 13-meter-diameter radio antennas located in Punta Arenas, Chile, Svalbard, Norway, and Troll station, Antarctica. Launch. LunIR will fly as one of ten CubeSats as a secondary payload on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System, Artemis 1. Propulsion. LunIR will demonstrate a low thrust electric propulsion technology called electrospray propulsion to lower the spacecraft's orbit for additional science and technology mission objectives