More than 50 years after the last Apollo, the United States will try again to land a spacecraft on the Moon on January 25, said the head of the first private company to successfully touch down on the lunar surface, if all goes well.
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The craft, called Peregrine, will not have any passengers. It was developed by the American company Astrobotic, whose CEO, John Thornton, said it will carry NASA to study the moon, paving the way for NASA's upcoming missions, known as Artemis.
Several years ago, NASA decided to allow American companies to send scientific experiments and technologies to the moon – a program called CLPS. These fixed-price contracts would enable the development of an economic system for the moon and provide services at a reduced cost.
"One of the big hurdles we face in our effort is to do a launch and landing on the surface of the Moon for less than what it would otherwise cost," Thornton said Wednesday at a press conference at his company in Pittsburgh.
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The flight from Florida is scheduled for December 24, with the new rocket from the industrial group ULA, called Vulcan Centaur.
According to Thornton, the device will need “a few days” to reach the Moon’s orbit, but it will have to wait until January 25 before attempting to land, so that the lighting conditions at the landing site are suitable. The guidance will be carried out autonomously, without human intervention, but will be monitored by the company's control center.
In the spring, Japanese start-up ispace attempted to become the first private company to land on the Moon, but the mission ended in an accident. Israel also faced a similar problem in 2019. Only four countries have successfully landed on the Moon: the United States, Russia, China and, most recently, India.
In addition to Astrobotic, NASA has signed contracts with other companies, including Firefly Aerospace, Draper, and Intuitive Machines, the latter of which is expected to launch on a SpaceX in January.
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Through the Artemis program, NASA aims to create a base on the Moon's surface.
Source: sciencealert
