Rocket Lab is supporting NASA’s return to the moon with advanced robotics for the EMILIA-3D science payload, which will generate three-dimensional thermal models of the lunar surface.
EMILIA-3D, short for Emission Imager for Lunar Infrared Analysis in 3-D, is one of three science payloads announced by NASA in January 2026 for lunar exploration under the Artemis program. Research is being led by Sarah Sutton at the University of Arizona.
Rocket Lab Robotics, formerly Motiv Space Systems, has developed a single-axis instrument gimbal for the payload’s camera. The integrated avionics and scanning system will allow the instrument to precisely scan the lunar terrain and produce detailed three-dimensional thermal models.
The technology is designed to operate in the extreme lunar environment, including intense solar radiation and surface temperature variations of around 250 degrees.
The resulting data could improve understanding of the moon’s dusty surface while supporting future approaches to lunar imaging, navigation and exploration. The project also highlights Rocket Lab’s growing position in planetary robotics following its acquisition of California-based Motiv Space Systems in May 2026.
The acquisition added around 50 engineers, facilities in Pasadena and extensive experience in planetary exploration to Rocket Lab’s existing space systems business.
Rocket Lab Robotics’ technologies have already supported major NASA missions, including the Mars Perseverance rover and the CADRE lunar rovers, as well as precision mechanisms for scientific instruments and spacecraft systems.
The company’s involvement in lunar exploration also extends to NASA’s CAPSTONE mission, which Rocket Lab successfully launched in 2022 to demonstrate navigation and communications technologies in the lunar environment.
With NASA and its international partners preparing for renewed human exploration of the moon, EMILIA-3D will provide additional data on the lunar surface and its thermal characteristics.
For Rocket Lab, the mission demonstrates how its expanding portfolio of launch, spacecraft and robotic technologies can contribute to increasingly complex lunar and planetary exploration missions.
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