After more than half a century, the plan to send human to the moon was supposed to go one step further, but in the middle of it, the space research organization NASA faced another obstacle. Because they have lost contact with the ‘Capstone’ satellite going to the moon from the Earth’s orbit.
NASA suddenly lost contact with the satellite while going to the moon from Earth’s orbit. NASA scientists are working to reconnect with the satellite’s computers.
In a statement, NASA informed, “After the successful launch of the Capstone satellite on July 4, the spacecraft faced communication issues with the Deep Space network.”
MISSION UPDATE: Teams are working to re-establish contact with our #CAPSTONE spacecraft which experienced communications issues while in contact with the Deep Space Network. Additional updates will be provided as soon as possible: https://t.co/gRhJKAAZPn pic.twitter.com/IHuurVI5Bm
— NASA Ames (@NASAAmes) July 5, 2022
The Cubic-shaped ‘Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment’ or ‘CAPSTONE’, which weighs about 25 kg, was reported to have landed on the moon in a report by technology site Engadget. The Senate has released a report on the loss of communication of the satellite.
The satellite was launched last week on an ‘electron’ rocket from New Zealand by space equipment maker Rocket Lab. Over the next six days, the satellite began its journey to the moon, gathering the necessary momentum from Earth’s orbit. As the journey is relatively slow, it is unlikely to reach the moon until November. NASA was to place the satellite in a ‘rectilinear hello’ orbit near the moon, which has never happened before. However, that possibility is now in question due to the loss of communication.
The company was planning to use the same orbit for the much-awaited ‘Gateway’ space station, where the orbit would support all ‘long-term’ lunar missions under the Artemis project. The space outpost may have a lab for astronauts and a few accommodation facilities to stay. However, the campaign is unlikely to start at least before 2024.
According to last week’s news, NASA is aiming for a launch between the Artemis 1 missions between August 23 and September 6. NASA will send a passenger-free module to the launch to verify the effects of the lunar journey on the human body. The company tested a successful ‘weight launch’ of Artemis 1 in June.