NASA's technology has recently demonstrated its ability to be in demanding space environments, which will soon return to the moon, with a new collaborative research and development agreement between NASA and commercial company Magna Petra Corp.

The mass spectrometer that observes the moon operation (MSOLO) successfully demonstrated its full hardware under lunar conditions in the Intuitive Machine 2 mission earlier this year. Under the new agreement, a second MSOLO, mounted on a commercial rover, will launch to the Moon no earlier than 2026. Once on the lunar surface, it will measure low molecular weight volatiles in hopes of inferring the presence of rare isotopes, such as Helium-3, which is theorized to exist, trapped in the regolith, or lunar dust, of the Moon.

"This new mission opportunity will help us determine what volatiles exist on the moon's surface, while also providing scientific insights into the goals of Magna Petra," said Roberto Aguilar Ayala, a research physicist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Learn more about lunar volatiles and their isotopes, supporting NASA's goal of maintaining long-term human space exploration. We will need to extract resources locally to enhance our astronauts' capabilities to further explore the opportunities on the moon's surface."

The MSOLO instrument will be integrated on commercial rovers selected by Magna Petra. The rover will allow MSOLO to collect the data needed by researchers to understand which low-molecular weight gases are located within the moon's surface.

NASA will work with partners to integrate MSOLO so that it can function properly with Rover, and partners will analyze and share data in real time with NASA to understand the location of these volatiles on the moon and their ability to extract in the future.

Magna Petra wants to understand the existence of helium 3 isotopes within the moon's surface, with the ultimate goal of collecting it and bringing it back to Earth for use in a variety of industries, including energy production through nuclear fusion, quantum computing, health care and specialized laboratory equipment.

The MSOLO instrument started with a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer designed to analyze volatiles used to manufacture semiconductors, which helps reduce the cost of NASA development. NASA has modified the device to withstand the stringency of space flight and the harsh conditions of the moon. On its first journey to the moon, MSOLO is part of the Polar Resources ice mining experiment 1.

The reimbursement agreement was signed on April 2 and is the first such agreement established at NASA Kennedy. Under the agreement, Magna Petra will repay NASA for expertise in such areas as MSOLO integration and testing that supports Rover, forward preparation and mission operation of instruments, and systems engineering, avionics and software.

“This innovative agreement is expected to provide valuable data to both parties,” said Jonathan Baker, director of NASA KENNENDY SPACEPORT DEVERSENT. “This approach demonstrates that NASA is committed to finding unique ways to work with the commercial industry to help promote technology in a financially responsible way and to promote innovation for the good of humanity.”

Throughout the mission, NASA will retain ownership of MSOLO. Once the mission is completed, the instrument will no longer be able to use electricity and communications and will remain on the moon's surface. The valuable data collected during the mission will be submitted to the planetary data system for public dissemination.