Names | Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer |
---|---|
Mission type | Lunar exploration |
Operator | ESA |
Mission duration | 12 months (planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | LUMIO |
Spacecraft type | 12U CubeSat |
Bus | CubeSat |
Manufacturer | Argotec |
Launch mass | 28 kg |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 2027 (planned) |
Moon orbiter | |
Orbits | Halo orbit |
Lumio mission logo. |
LUnar Meteoroid Impact Observer (LUMIO) is a planned lunar exploration mission expected to launch as early as 2027.[1] The main goal of the mission is to detect, quantify, and characterize the impacts of near-Earth meteoroids on the lunar far side.[2] The spacecraft consists of a 12-U CubeSat that will operate in a halo orbit around the L2 Lagrange point of the Earth-Moon system.[3] It is an autonomus mission of the European Space Agency[1] and is currently being developed by an international consortium which includes Politecnico di Milano, Argotec, Leonardo, IMT,[4] Nautilus[5] and S&T Norway.[6][7]
The main scientific payload of LUMIO is a custom-designed optical camera, called LUMIO-Cam, which will observe the lunar surface in umbra to detect the flashes caused by asteroid impacts. Scientific data from the mission will be integrated with observations from the Earth to elaborate the first complete and accurate model of meteoroids flux in the lunar environment.[2][8]