NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission is in jeopardy, after the US space organization lost track of the spacecraft on its way to the Moon. Part of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program,

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer hitched a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9, successfully deploying into space. But soon after, the mission hit a snag — engineers discovered power system issues that led to a loss of communication.

On Wednesday 26 February, a thermal imaging camera built by researchers at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics will blast off to the moon as part of NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission. This aims to map sources of water on the moon to shed light on the lunar water cycle and to guide future robotic and human missions.

The Lunar Trailblazer orbiter's launch window opens Feb 26. It's catching a ride with Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission which is landing on the moon near the south pole. Both have instruments for looking for water.

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer, a small satellite designed to map water on the Moon, lost contact with ground control just hours after its successful deployment aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Mission operators detected power system issues before communication was lost.

NASA and AstroForge missions prove Space is Hard Engineers are continuing to attempt to make contact with NASA's stricken Lunar Trailblazer probe as hopes for the science planned for the mission begin to fade.