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About

Sun Hur-Diaz is a pioneering aerospace engineer whose work is central to humanity’s return to the Moon. Her primary research focuses on small satellite mission design, lunar navigation, and in-situ resource utilization—specifically the prospecting of water ice. She is best known as the Principal Investigator for the **Lunar IceCube** mission, a NASA nanosatellite selected for the Artemis I (EM-1) launch. This groundbreaking project aims to prospect, locate, and measure the volume and composition of water ice deposits on the Moon, directly supporting future robotic and human exploitation of lunar resources. Her work on this mission (33 citations) has established her as a key figure in public-private partnerships for deep space exploration. Hur-Diaz has also made critical contributions to lunar navigation infrastructure, authoring influential work on **Lunar Relay Onboard Navigation** (14 citations). This research addresses the crucial challenge of enabling landers to autonomously estimate their position and time during descent to the surface, ensuring robustness for the upcoming wave of crewed and robotic missions. Through her leadership on Lunar IceCube and her advancements in autonomous navigation, Sun Hur-Diaz is shaping the operational backbone of the new lunar economy.