Lunar Thermal Margin

Lunar Thermal Margin is a space safety metric that tracks how much temperature headroom remains before a component exceeds limits for Moon surface and cislunar mission operations. It uses sensor data, heat models, and operational constraints so teams can protect hardware during changing conditions while keeping evidence, reliability, and public-safe operational boundaries clear.

“The mission team used Lunar Thermal Margin when the lander crossed into a polar shadow region, so the team could protect hardware during changing conditions before the next mission decision point.”