An innovative NASA experiment is preparing for its journey to the Moon as part of Intuitive Machines’ second launch to the lunar surface. The Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) will be delivered through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative on the next lunar flight. Designed to investigate the Moon’s subsurface, PRIME-1 will demonstrate groundbreaking technology to extract and analyze lunar soil, paving the way for sustainable human exploration under NASA’s Artemis campaign. In this video, Jackie Quinn explains how PRIME-1’s two key instruments – the Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) and the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) – will work together to search for resources beneath the lunar surface. The Athena lander, carrying PRIME-1 and other NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations, will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Feb. 26. For more information about CLPS, visit https://www.nasa.gov/clps.
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NASA ID
KSC-20250213-MH-NAS01-0001-CLPS_Jackie_Quinn_Polar_Ice_Experiment_Paves_Way_for_Future_Moon_Missions
Date Created
February 13, 2025
Center
KSC
Media Type
video
Photographer
NASA
Location
KSC
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