DLR
New lunar mission: Berlin research LRAD measures temperatures in search of water ice
The IM-2 private lunar mission of the US company Intuitive Machines was successfully launched on 27 February 2025. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the Athena lander into space from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. After separation, the lander sent its first signal and is now on course to the Moon. There, the Lunar Radiometer Experiment (LRAD), developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Free University of Berlin, will begin its work.
On board is the Lunar RADiometer (LRAD), a scientific instrument developed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the Institute of Geological Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) for measuring temperatures without contact. On 22 February 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first space company in the world to successfully land on the Moon – at 80 degrees south latitude, near the Malapert-A crater. The Athena landing module, part of Intuitive Machines’ second mission, is now also set to touch down in the Moon's southern polar region near Mons Mouton, where it will search for water ice using a drill and a mass spectrometer.
On board Athena is Grace, an approximately 70 cm-high 'hopping' propulsive drone designed to autonomously explore the lunar surface during a series of short hops. And on board Grace is LRAD – an instrument designed to measure the temperature of the lunar surface to identify further regions of water ice.
Ice in the 'cold traps' of permanently dark craters
Near the Moon's south pole, the Sun is so low that some craters remain in shadow year-round. In these permanently shaded regions, temperatures below minus 160 °C are possible – so cold that, even in a vacuum, water ice does not sublimate (the process by which a substance changes directly from a solid to a gas without passing through the liquid state). LRAD is designed to jump with Grace into one of the Moon’s permanently shadowed craters to measure the temperature.
Water ice is an important resource for establishing sustainability on the Moon's surface, as it can be used both for drinking water and for the production of hydrogen and oxygen. In addition to supplying oxygen for breathing, both gases may be used as rocket fuel. If they could be extracted directly from the Moon's surface, this would save the trouble of transporting them from Earth to the Moon. The landing region, Mons Mouton, is located at approximately 85° South latitude, just 160 km from the Moon's south pole. It is one of several potential landing sites for the first human lunar landing since 1972, as part of NASA's Artemis campaign.
However, the mission remains a challenge. "Landing on the surface alone would be a big success, and the autonomous jumps of the hopper would be another milestone", says Heike Rauer, professor at the Institute of Geological Sciences at Freie Universität (FU) Berlin and director of the Institute of Planetary Research at DLR. "However, the project has already shown how close cooperation between a university, a non-university research institution, a publicly traded space exploration company and a medium-sized company can advance the exploration and utilization of the Moon".
Close cooperation between DLR and FU Berlin
LRAD was developed by DLR's Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin-Adlershof and the Institute of Geological Sciences of Freie Universität Berlin, and was built in close cooperation with the companies Magson and Astro- und Feinwerktechnik GmbH, also based in the capital. The sensors, optimised to measure low temperatures, were specially developed by the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (IPHT) in Jena. The DLR Institute of Planetary Research has long-standing expertise in building radiometers, having used them in previous missions such as the DLR MASCOT lander on Japan's Hayabusa2 asteroid mission and NASA's InSight Mars lander.
FU Berlin is responsible for project management and a large part of the scientific data analysis. Using a model of lunar surface material developed there, the temperature is predicted based on assumptions about the material’s properties. By comparing these predictions with the surface temperatures measured by LRAD, researchers at FUB and DLR will be able to draw conclusions about the physical properties of the lunar material.
FUB researcher, project manager for LRAD and guest scientist at DLR, Maximilian Hamm, says: "LRAD began in 2022, and the exciting years of preparation lie behind us. It's great to be at the forefront of shaping this new chapter in space-mission history. We are now looking forward to the unique results from its measurements." The results of the mission are also eagerly awaited at DLR: "Exploring the Moon with lander missions remains a major technical challenge", says Matthias Grott, LRAD Project Lead at DLR's Institute of Planetary Research. "If we succeed in taking measurements in a permanently shadowed crater, that would be a unique achievement worldwide."
About Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines is one of several companies aiming to provide transport services to the Moon. The IM-2 mission is the company's second under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, a key component of NASA's Artemis lunar exploration efforts. The science and technology payloads sent to the Moon's surface through CLPS are intended to lay the foundation for future human missions and a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. The LRAD project is funded by the German Space Agency at DLR with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, following a decision by the German Bundestag (Grant 50OW2103).
Source: DLR press release “New lunar mission to demonstrate search for water ice at Moon's south pole”, 12.02.2025
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