One more step towards Moon. At 7:11 this morning the journey began Lugrethe experimental mission intended to test new technologies important for future lunar missions and deep space exploration. And there is the tricolor signature, given that the innovative payload was entirely designed and built in Italy on behalf ofItalian space agencythanks to the collaboration between ASI and NASA. In about a month it will enter lunar orbit, while it will land on our satellite in the first days of March.
3, 2, 1… Liftoff! The mission journey begins #LuGRE Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment#Moon #Artemis #CLPS #QASCOM@Valente_Teodoro @PoliTOnews @NASA @SpaceX @Firefly_Space pic.twitter.com/DgrQFktxMS
— ITA Space Agency (@ASI_spazio) January 15, 2025
The first entirely Made in Italy instrument ready to land on the Moon is a source of pride for our country. The goal of Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment is the reception of signals from the GPS and Galileo radio navigation satellites from the Earth and to and from the Moon. The experiment is fundamental to characterize and evaluate the use by future lunar explorers during their movements, not only on the surface but also around the Moon. A crucial role is played by software Defined Radio Receiveran advanced technology – very sensitive to GPS and Galileo signals – capable of measuring the position in space in detail, even in environments very far from our planet. This is an important novelty: all this will be useful for the preparation of permanent lunar missions.
Thus Italy confirms itself as an increasingly protagonist in facilitating the human presence in the new lunar exploration. Lugre is a challenging and frontier experiment on a global level. By testing challenging instruments and navigation capabilities, an ambitious goal is set: to try to break the world record currently in force, located halfway between the Earth and the Moon. “No one to date has ever dared these distances“he stressed Theodore Valenspresident of the Italian Space Agency.
The ASI scientific experiment highlights the capacity of the space sector, “with the offer of Made in Italy and research at high levels and capable of providing technologically advanced and unparalleled answers“.
The contribution of the Venetian company proved to be fundamental Qascom (which was responsible for the creation of the instrumentation and which will now support the mission’s operations) and the Polytechnic of Turin (who contributed to the definition of the scientific objectives and who will now manage the data processing). “2025 opens, decidedly, under the sign of the Moon. Happy sailing Lugre“, concluded Valente.