Bartington’s Mag566 are headed to the Moon

Here is some exciting news, with Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory having selected to use a number of Mag566 Three-axis low power fluxgate magnetometers from Bartington Instruments (UK) for its Vertex Lunar Mission.

The mission’s aim is to measure the fluctuations of the magnetic field at the surface of the Moon associated with the bright swirl visible on its surface, and known as Reiner Gamma. The sensors will be mounted on both the Lander and the Rover which will travel a distance from the Lander and take magnetic field measurements of both the bright and dark regions of the swirl.

The mission is part of NASA’s PRISM program (Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon. It is scheduled to launch in 2024.

Further details can be found at https://civspace.jhuapl.edu/stories/lunar-vertex-solving-mysteries-swirling-around-moons-magnetic-regions

Photo from JHUAPL press release

Artist’s impression of the Lunar Vertex rover on the surface of the Moon. Equipped with a magnetometer and microscopic camera, the solar-powered rover will leave the Lunar Vertex lander to explore up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) across Reiner Gamma, traversing the light and dark soils and sampling the magnetic properties of one of the Moon’s most distinctive natural features. The rover is about 35 centimeters tall. The cylinder on top is the mast for the APL-built magnetometer. The Mag566 are visible on the top mast. Credit: Johns Hopkins APL/Lunar Outpost/Ben Smith