NASA lost contact with CAPSTONE, a small satellite that left Earth’s orbit on July 4. CAPSTONE is a cubic satellite weighing only 55 pounds and is headed for the Moon as part of NASA’s plan to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.
The small satellite stopped communicating with engineers on July 4 shortly after it deployed from an Electron rocket bus and left Earth’s orbit. A NASA spokesperson told Space.com that the team has solid information about CAPSTONE’s trajectory and handlers are trying to re-establish contact with the cubesat.
“If necessary, the mission has enough fuel to delay the initial trajectory correction maneuver after separation by several days,” the site spokesman said.
CAPSTONE spent six days building speed in orbit on the Rocket Lab Electron accelerator and finally deployed yesterday on its way to the moon. CAPSTONE is scheduled to enter a nearly rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon on November 13, serving as a test for NASA’s Artemis mission. With Artemis, NASA plans to install a space station called the Lunar Gateway in lunar orbit to serve as a permanent floating base for lunar visitors, along with living quarters and a laboratory.
NASA plans to launch its Artemis 1 mission between August 23 and September 6 with the deployment of an unmanned Orion module that will orbit the moon and provide data on how the journey might affect the human body. Four astronauts will then launch to the lunar satellite. Finally, some time after 2025, NASA plans to send humans to the moon again.
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