Tag: Moon
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A Japanese spacecraft faceplanted on the Moon and lived to tell the tale
Japan’s first lunar lander made an unsteady touchdown on the Moon last week, moments after one of its two main engines inexplicably lost power and apparently fell off the spacecraft, officials said Thursday. About the size of a small car, the Small Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on Friday, making Japan the fifth country…
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NASA urged Astrobotic not to send its hamstrung spacecraft toward the Moon
Astrobotic knew its first space mission would be rife with risks. After all, the company’s Peregrine spacecraft would attempt something never done before—landing a commercial spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The most hazardous part of the mission, actually landing on the Moon, would happen more than a month after Peregrine’s launch. But the…
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Astrobotic’s lunar lander falls into South Pacific after missing out on moon landing
One of the last pictures taken by a camera on the Peregrine lander shows a crescent Earth. (Astrobotic Photo) Ten days after its launch, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander fell back to Earth, ending a trip to the moon’s orbital distance and back that was doomed by a propellant leak. The mission began auspiciously on the…
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Japan’s SLIM lands on the Moon upside down, overcomes power issues
Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) lunar lander appears to have achieved a soft touchdown on the Moon’s surface but is currently unable to generate electricity from onboard solar cells. To utilize the remaining battery life to maximum effect, controllers worked to prioritize the recording and downloading of data. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency…
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Japan’s SLIM lands on the Moon upside down, overcomes power issues
Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) lunar lander appears to have achieved a soft touchdown on the Moon’s surface but is currently unable to generate electricity from onboard solar cells. To utilize the remaining battery life to maximum effect, controllers worked to prioritize the recording and downloading of data. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency…
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Japan becomes the fifth nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon
The Japanese space agency’s first lunar lander arrived on the the Moon’s surface Friday, but a power system problem threatens to cut short its mission. Japan’s robotic Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission began a 20-minute final descent using two hydrazine-fueled engines to drop out of orbit. After holding to hover at 500 meters…
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PowerLight joins Blue Origin to study power beaming system for the moon
An artist’s conception shows a beamed-power system operating on the moon. (Illustration via PowerLight) Kent, Wash.-based PowerLight Technologies says it’s joined a team headed by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture to design a power beaming system that might someday charge up robots on the moon. The effort is being funded by the Pentagon’s Defense…
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America’s first lunar lander in a half-century won’t reach the Moon
A few hours after a successful liftoff on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic’s first commercial lunar lander ran into serious trouble. The robotic Peregrine lander, still in orbit around Earth, appears to have a propellant leak that will prevent it from reaching the Moon. There are 20 payloads aboard the Peregrine lunar lander, including…
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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…