Cislunar Science and Operations

Probing Our Nearest Celestial Neighbor

Formed from the cataclysmic collision of young Earth with a Mars-sized rock, the Moon holds many secrets about the solar system’s history and can serve as the next launch pad for human space exploration.

APL’s lunar experts study everything from how craters form to how volatile molecules such as hydrogen are distributed around the Moon. They study the chemical composition, weathering, geology and volcanic history of the Moon and help to lead several instruments on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) – including cameras that have imaged the Moon in unprecedented detail, and the Mini-RF instruments that use radar to provide critical information about volatile molecules on the lunar surface. APL also operates the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), which connects experts from academia, industry and government to shape the technologies and systems needed to explore the Moon in new ways.

Expertise in Action

Missions

Lunar Vertex Moon

Lunar Vertex will be the first mission to carry out a comprehensive study of lunar magnetic anomaly and the associated swirl and mini-magnetosphere.

Learn more about Lunar Vertex

Instruments

a magnetic field at the Moon’s Reiner Gamma swirl

Vector Magnetometers Moon

A small rover that will explore as much as 2 kilometers (just over a mile) of one of the Moon’s most famous magnetic “swirls.”

Learn more about Vector Magnetometers

Spacecraft with Mini-RF instruments outside the moon

Mini-RF Moon

Mini-RF data is advancing our understanding of the lunar poles — prime targets for humankind’s return to the Moon.

Learn more about Mini-RF

Largest Group of Lunar Surface Experts in the World

With a broad and distinguished base of cislunar experts and a demonstrated ability to work across the civil and national security space domains, APL is uniquely positioned as a trusted government agent to implement and integrate critical elements of our nation’s lunar strategy. Through partnerships with government, academia, and industry, APL is making critical contributions to the development of cislunar infrastructure to ensure our nation’s security interests are protected, support development of a sustainable cislunar presence, and advance pioneering science.

Cislunar space (Credit: Johns Hopkins APL)

Cislunar Science and Technology

APL is making critical contributions to the development of cislunar infrastructure to ensure our nation’s security interests are protected, support development of a sustainable cislunar presence, and advance pioneering science.

Learn more about Cislunar Science and Technology

Initiatives

While APL may be known for engaging in space-firsts and building first-of-its-kind spacecraft that deflect asteroids or touch the Sun, it also has a deep knowledge base of science and engineering experts who provide critical contributions to critical challenges. Through initiatives like Planetary Defense, Heliophysics and Space Weather, and Cislunar Operations, APL is able to deliver game-changing impacts for civil and national security.

Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Moon

APL holds a key leadership role in NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII), which aims to spur the development and deployment of technologies enabling humans to live and work on the Moon.

Learn more about Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative

Johns Hopkins APL Space Scientist Denevi Earns NASA Solar System Exploration Award Dec 5, 2023

APL planetary geologist Brett Denevi has earned the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute’s Angioletta Coradini Award for her research accomplishments.

Five Ways Johns Hopkins APL Is Advancing Lunar Science, Security and Technology Dec 5, 2023

The scientific, economic and national security value of the Moon and its surrounding space has kicked off an era of intense international cooperation and competition. Leveraging its broad and distinguished base of experts, APL is making advancements that will keep the nation at the forefront in the development and exploration of the region.

Illustration of NASA astronauts on the lunar South Pole

Johns Hopkins APL Teaming With DARPA to Accelerate Interoperability Standards for Commercial Lunar Infrastructure Oct 11, 2023

APL is applying its expertise in lunar science and technology to a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency initiative to identify and propose interoperating standards for commercial infrastructure on the Moon.

Space Science and Engineering