Abstract
MoonLITE is a proposed, UK led lunar science mission involving 4 scientific penetrators that will make in situ measurements at widely separated locations on the Moon. MoonLITE will create the first global lunar network with nodes near and far-side, and in permanently shaded crater(s). With such a network MoonLITE will be able to determine much about the interior of the Moon, including characterisation of its core. Penetrator(s) at the poles will seek and characterise frozen volatiles, possibly of cometary origin and of great importance both to human exploration and to astrobiology. MoonLITE penetrators will reach the Moon at ~300 m/s and so must be able to stand the forces associated with this impact. As part of a programme aimed to establish reliable penetrator technologies the first full-scale impact trials have been conducted and are described here.