ShadowCam Begins Long-Awaited Journey

Photo of the NASA ShadowCam instrument, carefully secured inside its shipping box in preparation for its trip from San Diego to South Korea.
The NASA ShadowCam instrument, carefully secured inside its shipping box, in preparation for its trip from San Diego to South Korea. There, it will be integrated with the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) satellite, along with the rest of the payload.

The ShadowCam instrument was stowed inside its shipping container on 12 August 2021, starting the first leg of a long journey that will eventually place it into lunar orbit. The camera, which is based on the successful Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle Camera, left Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) in San Diego and departed the United States for South Korea on 13 August 2021. During its time at the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) engineering team will mount the ShadowCam instrument to the satellite, along with four other Korean-built science instruments, before shipping the completed satellite to the United States for launch from Cape Canaveral. 

Close up photo of the focal plane electronics and radiator (checkered mirror) that will keep the detector cool while in lunar orbit.
Close up view of the focal plane electronics and radiator (checkered mirror) that will keep the detector cool while in lunar orbit.

ShadowCam was selected to fly as a NASA contribution to the KARI-led KPLO mission in April, 2017. The instrument will enable detailed imaging of shadowed regions of the Moon, and in particular permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the Moon's poles, which are of interest because they host water ice and other frozen volatiles. As NASA prepares to send humans back to the Moon, the scientific community has made it a priority to discover the contents of these enigmatic regions. ShadowCam will provide critical information about the distribution and accessibility of volatiles in PSRs at the spatial scales (1.7-meter pixels) required to both mitigate risks and maximize the results of future exploration activities, both human and robotic.

A 45 degree angle photo of the front of ShadowCam, showing the rings inside the baffle.
The rings inside the ShadowCam sunshade (left side) were designed to reduce stray light from making its way to the detector, which could otherwise  overwhelm the dim signal from shadowed regions while capturing images. The orange material is a thermal blanket that protects the telescope and sunshade from the harsh space environment.
Top down photo of the ShadowCam instrument, carefully secured inside its shipping box.
ShadowCam is about 118 cm (46 inches) long and 27 cm (10.6 inches) in diameter. The silver collar covering the end of the telescope (right side) is a temporary cover to keep dust or other debris from getting inside the telescope during shipping.
A photo from inside the MSSS clean room as the ShadowCam engineering team prepares to move the shipping container.
The ShadowCam engineering team prepares to move the shipping container (center of image) out of the MSSS clean room while the container undergoes a dry nitrogen purge.

Before the shipping container was moved out of the clean room, it underwent a dry nitrogen purge to force out any moisture — thus safeguarding the electronics (note the thin, green nitrogen delivery tube just beyond and above the shipping box in the image above). The nitrogen-purged shipping box and instrument were then packaged safely into a padded shipping crate, loaded and secured into a courier van and taken to the airport for its safe journey to South Korea.

Photo of the ShadowCam container getting placed into a padded, heavy wooden box prior to being loaded into the shipping van.
ShadowCam shipping container safely packed inside its shipping crate at MSSS in San Diego.
Photo of MSSS employees and the courier employee lifting the heavy container into the back of the shipping van.
Careful now!
Photo of the ShadowCam shipping container secured with straps inside the courier van.
Ready to roll!
Photo of the courier van with the ShadowCam instrument container inside, leaving the MSSS parking lot in San Diego, headed for the airport.
Headed to the airport!
The ShadowCam instrument getting unloaded from the courier truck at KARI in South Korea on 17 August 2021.
ShadowCam is lowered from the delivery truck at KARI, in Daejeon South Korea, on 17 August 2021.
Image of ShadowCam (bottom container) placed in the receiving bay at KARI, ready for the next step!
ShadowCam shipping container received safely at KARI, ready for integration with the KPLO spacecraft!

ShadowCam and KPLO are scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex, Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket around this time next year. The team is excited to share the first leg of ShadowCam's trip to the Moon! Check back often for more exciting news.

Posted by Mark Robinson on 18 August 2021