Summary:

- NASA is planning to send a small robotic lander to the Moon as part of the Artemis program to test a vacuum cleaner-like device for collecting lunar soil samples.
- The lander, called the Lunar Trailblazer, will use a sampling mechanism called the Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System (L-CIRiS) to suck up lunar regolith (soil) and store it for potential future return to Earth.
- This test mission will help inform the design of larger sample collection systems for future Artemis missions, which aim to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon and eventually enable crewed missions to Mars.