SFL Missions Included on Team Awarded Moon Mapping Study Contract by European Space Agency (ESA)

The Moonraker satellite will carry a laser scanner to create a detailed elevation map of the Moon’s surface.

The Moonraker mission will consist of a single orbiter operating in a low-altitude polar orbit around the Moon. The orbiter will host a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) payload to capture highly accurate elevation points of the terrain. These points will be used to generate 3D elevation models that will be relied upon to assess and select future landing sites.

Moonraker’s LiDAR data will also serve a broader scientific purpose, including scanning permanently shadowed regions for water ice and providing valuable insights into the Moon's geological and interior composition. The Moonraker LiDAR will operator in two modes – one for broad-area scanning of the Moon’s polar regions and the other for high-resolution surveys of specific areas of interest.