The relatively tiny Trailblazer satellite, which will measure just 3.5 meters in length with its solar panels fully deployed, will spend more than a year orbiting the Moon at a height of 100 kilometers, scanning it with two instruments on board. Christopher Edwards, assistant professor in NAU’s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, will contribute to the instrumentation being developed for the satellite: a visible-shortwave infrared imaging spectrometer built by JPL and a multispectral thermal imager built by the University of Oxford. NAU doctoral student Christian Tai Udovicic and postdoctoral scholar Jennifer Buz will also be involved in the project.
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