NASA lost contact with the Lunar Trailblazer lunar vehicle, designed to mapping of places with water on the Earth’s satellite, and officially announced the completion of the mission.
Communication problems arose immediately after the launch of Lunar Trailblazer, and on July 31, after multiple attempts by NASA to restore communication with the vehicle via satellites, the mission was officially completed. Lunar Trailblazer was launched on February 26 together with the second lunar landing mission Intuitive Machines (IM-2). The devices were launched into space by a rocket SpaceX Falcon 9.
The small satellite separated from the rocket about 48 minutes after launch and began its journey toward the moon. Operators at the California Institute of Technology’s Pasadena Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) made initial contact at 20:13 EST, but lost contact the next day. In the absence of communication, the team of specialists was unable to diagnose technical problems and perform the necessary engine maneuvers to maintain the spacecraft’s trajectory.
“At NASA, we conduct high-risk, high-reward missions like Lunar Trailblazer to find revolutionary approaches to new scientific research. Although not the outcome we had hoped for, the experience of missions like Lunar Trailblazer helps us learn and reduce risks for future low-cost small satellites that will be used for innovative scientific research in preparation for a permanent human presence on the Moon. We thank the Lunar Trailblazer team for their dedication and experience gained during this mission until the very end”, — commented the mission failure Deputy Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC Nicky Fox.
From the limited data obtained before the connection with Lunar Trailblazer was lost, it was possible to determine that the solar panels were not properly oriented to the sun. This caused them to fail to recharge and eventually discharge.
For several months, cooperating organizations around the world listened to Lunar Trailblazer’s radio signals and tracked its location. Data from ground-based radar and optical observations showed, that the spacecraft NASA slowly rotated and moved further into outer space.
“As Lunar Trailblazer drifted far beyond the moon, our models showed that the solar panels could have received more sunlight, possibly charging the spacecraft’s batteries enough to enable radio communications. The support of the international community helped us better understand the spacecraft’s rotation, direction and trajectory. In space exploration, cooperation is crucial — it gave us the best chance of re-establishing communication”, — notes systems engineer for the Lunar Trailblazer project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California Andrew Clash.
Over time The Lunar Trailblazer has moved far enough away from the Moon so that NASA can regain control of it. Telecommunication signals were too weak for the mission to receive telemetry and transmit commands.
On The Lunar Trailblazer was equipped with the Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3) spectrometer, developed by The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to detect and map water and mineral locations and obtain high-resolution images. To collect data on temperature and determine the composition of nitrate rocks, British specialists from Oxford have developed a device Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM). It was supposed to help scientists understand why the water content changes over time.
“We are extremely disappointed that our spacecraft did not reach the Moon, but the two scientific instruments we developed, as well as the teams we assembled, are world-class. This collective knowledge and the technologies developed will be used in other projects as the planetary science community continues to work to better understand lunar water”, — she emphasized Principal Mission Researcher at the California Institute of Technology Bethany Elmann.
Some of the technologies, are expected, to be used in the ultra-compact spectrometer to obtaining images of the Moon’s surface during future flights. This instrument, which has the same spectrometer design as HVM3, will provide the highest spatial resolution data on surface water and minerals on the Moon.
The mission, led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which operates NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was to provide an unprecedentedly detailed map of water on the Moon. Caltech’s Institute of Propulsion and Analysis Center (IPAC) was responsible for all phases of the mission NASA’s. Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided system design, ensuring the realization of the mission, navigation and use of a high-precision instrument for mapping volatiles and minerals on the Moon.
Spacecraft The Lunar Trailblazer was presented by Lockheed Martin Space, which also integrated the flight control system and provided support for operations.
Source: SciTechDaily
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