Tag: Moon
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Astrobotic rules out soft landing on moon after propellant leak dooms its spacecraft
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander is shown during last month’s preparations for launch. (ULA Photo) Astrobotic says that it’s given up on its plan to put a commercial spacecraft safely on the moon’s surface, due to a propellant leak that will soon leave its Peregrine lander without fuel. The Pittsburgh-based company said there was no indication that…
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ULA’s Vulcan rocket shot for the Moon on debut launch—and hit a bullseye
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—Right out of the gate, United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket chased perfection. The Vulcan launcher hit its marks after lifting off from Florida’s Space Coast for the first time early Monday, successfully deploying a commercial robotic lander on a journey to the Moon and keeping ULA’s unblemished success record intact. “Yeehaw! I…
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Astrobotic’s moon lander suffers failure in propulsion system, putting mission at risk
An artist’s conception shows Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander with Earth in the background. (Astrobotic via YouTube) Hours after the launch of its commercial moon lander, Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic reported a failure within the robotic spacecraft’s propulsion system that could rule out a soft landing. “Unfortunately, it appears the failure within the propulsion system is causing a critical…
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First Vulcan rocket launches commercial moon lander with a boost from Blue Origin
United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad. (NASA via YouTube) Update: Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander fell back to Earth 10 days after launch due to a propellant leak that ruled out a moon landing. United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket lifted off for the first time tonight, making use…
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Navajo objection to flying human ashes to the Moon won’t delay launch
Science instruments aren’t the only things hitching a ride to the Moon on a commercial lunar lander that is ready for launch on Monday. Two companies specializing in “space burials” are also sending cremated human remains to the Moon, and this doesn’t sit well with the Navajo Nation. The Navajo people, one of the nation’s…
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Milestone moon lander mission targets an otherworldly frontier for DNA data storage
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander is prepared for placement within its launch vehicle’s fairing. (Astrobotic Photo) A mission to send a commercial lander to the moon, set for launch in a couple of days, will bring the fruition of projects that have been in the works for years — including projects that aim to put DNA into…
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Three robotic missions target Moon landings over one week in January
Intuitive Machines engineers loading the IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander into its custom container in Houston, TX. Image: Intuitive Machines In a blend of interesting circumstances and happenstance, two private companies and Japan’s space agency are all poised to land on the Moon in the back half of January 2024. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency…
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Frank Borman, commander of the first mission to orbit the Moon, has died
Frank Borman, an Air Force test pilot, astronaut, and accomplished businessman who led the first crew to fly to the Moon in 1968, died Tuesday in Montana, NASA said Thursday. He was 95 years old. “Today we remember one of NASA’s best,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “Astronaut Frank Borman was a…
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Juno discovers salts and organic compounds on Ganymede’s surface
After a flyby of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, in 2021, Juno and a team of scientists have discovered the presence of mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of the icy moon. The new findings will allow scientists to better understand where Ganymede came from and the composition of its deep subsurface ocean. For…
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander arrives in Florida ahead of Christmas Eve Moon-bound launch
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander in the clean room at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft will be the main payload onboard the first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Image: ULA The first payload teed up for NASA’s industry-led missions to the Moon has arrived in Florida. Astrobotic announced on Halloween that its Peregrine lunar lander…