NASA announced Tuesday that it has lost contact with the small Capstone spacecraft , which launched from New Zealand on June 28 to the Moon to test a "slanted" lunar orbit. However, the space agency's engineers are hopeful that they can fix the problem.
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The $33 million, 55-pound spacecraft is set to enter a highly elliptical orbit around the moonthat has never been attempted before. NASA wants to place its Gateway lunar space station. Capstone is a precursor to NASA's future Artemis missions, which will allow the United States to return astronauts to the moon.
After a successful and second partial contact with the spacecraft on Monday, NASA said a problem had occurred that prevented it from communicating with the spacecraft again. Engineers are working to determine the cause of the communications outage and are optimistic they can fix it, according to a statement from space agency spokeswoman Sarah Frazier .
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The spacecraft has spent nearly a week in Earth and had successfully begun its journey to the moon when contact was lost, Frazier said.
The spacecraft is about the size of a microwave oven and will be the first spacecraft to test this oval orbit, where NASA wants to set up the Gateway. The Gateway will act as a staging point for astronauts before descending to the lunar.
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NASA sends Capstone and prepares for the mission to the Moon
NASA 's Artemis mission aims to explore the Moon, with the first landing at the lunar south pole planned by 2025. If successful, the Artemis program will perform the first crewed mission since 1972. The program is expected to be a collaborative effort between government space agencies and private spaceflight companies .
Source: www.wsls.com
