ARMAS FM11 radiation sensor scheduled for launch to the Moon
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. Space Environment Technologies (SET) is proud to announce that its ARMAS (Automated Radiation Measurement for Aerospace Safety) sensor will be flying aboard Lonestar Data Holding’s (Lonestar) Freedom Payload in conjunction with SpaceBilt, Inc. on the upcoming second Intuitive Machines mission to the Lunar Southern region. This highly anticipated flight is scheduled to be launched at Cape Canaveral on February 27, 2025. It marks a significant milestone in gathering critical radiation data that will help ensure the safety and success of all future missions to the Moon, in both Cislunar space and on the lunar surface.
ARMAS has a legacy of radiation measurements over the past decade from the atmosphere to the International Space Station and will collect data in-flight from the upper atmosphere, through the Van Allen Radiation belts, across deep space and into Cislunar regions. Once the payload reaches the Moon’s surface, it will continue to offer valuable insights that are expected to support long-term human exploration and lunar settlement.
“SET is proud to provide this unique sensor in support of understanding the radiation environment from the Earth to the Moon,” said W. Kent Tobiska, President of Space Environment Technologies. “These measurements will reveal the dynamics and variability of the radiation environment for all domains that human space flight will travel in the next decades as we expand human presence on the Moon, on Mars, and to the asteroid belts.” This information is key to mitigating risks and ensuring the longevity of missions as space agencies and commercial enterprises continue to push the boundaries of human presence beyond Earth’s orbit.
Dr. Tobiska also noted, “These first-ever measurements of the continuous radiation environment for six distinct regions, from the Earth’s upper atmosphere, through the radiation belts, across deep space, in lunar orbit, during landing, and on the surface near the South Pole of the Moon, will provide the baseline dataset for understanding human tissue and dose in avionics exposure hazards as we expand our exploration of space beyond Earth.” The ARMAS program was developed over the past decade and a half with NASA support through 12 generations of instruments and is now the main real-time radiation monitoring system for aerospace in the atmosphere, in Earth orbit, and now to the Moon.
About Space Environment Technologies
SET accelerates human expansion into space with leading space physics models, innovative instruments, pre-eminent operational data feeds, and unique flight platforms serving agency, academic, and commercial missions.