NASA's Lunar Trailblazer ended its mission to the moon on July 31. Despite extensive efforts, mission operators were unable to establish two-way communications after losing contact with the spacecraft the day following its Feb.

"While it was not the outcome we had hoped for, mission experiences like Lunar Trailblazer help us to learn and reduce the risk for future, low-cost small satellites to do innovative science as we prepare for a sustained human presence on the moon.

The Lunar Trailblazer mission was one of several commercial spaceflights planned for travel to the moon during 2025. Its goal was to create high-resolution maps of any water on the moon's surface, as well as assessing how much water was present,

The Lunar Trailblazer hitched a ride on the second Intuitive Machines robotic lunar lander mission, IM-2, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 26, 2025. The spacecraft separated as planned from the rocket about 48 minutes after launch,

Stricken spacecraft gives scientists the silent treatment NASA has called it quits on attempts to contact its Lunar Trailblazer probe, notching up a failure in its low-cost, high-risk science program.