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Lunar Flashlight

All articles tagged with #lunar flashlight

space2 years ago

NASA's Lunar Flashlight Mission Fails to Reach Orbit.

NASA has shut down the Lunar Flashlight mission after it failed to go into orbit due to the failure of three of its four thrusters. The mission was designed to search for water ice hidden in the permanently shadowed craters located on the lunar south pole. Engineers believe that the fuel feed system had become blocked with debris, which caused the thruster issues. Despite the failure, many of the other components of the system were considered a success, and the spacecraft will continue to send data back home as it orbits the Sun.

via Universe Today|
#lunar-flashlight#moon#nasa
space2 years ago

NASA Abandons Lunar Flashlight Mission After Failed Launch Attempt.

NASA has ended the Lunar Flashlight cubesat mission, which was designed to search for ice hidden inside craters on the Moon's South Pole, after the spacecraft's four thrusters malfunctioned. The briefcase-sized spacecraft was launched in December and was intended to enter a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. Although the mission failed, NASA said it collected valuable data on the instrument that will be useful for future iterations of the technique. The space agency is now considering different options for the spacecraft's future.

via The Register|
#cubesat#lunar-flashlight#moon
space2 years ago

NASA halts Lunar Flashlight mission due to thruster issues.

NASA has ended the Lunar Flashlight mission after the cubesat was unable to go into its planned polar orbit around the moon due to problems with its propulsion system. Engineers spent several months trying to troubleshoot the problem, but were unable to clear the obstructions. Lunar Flashlight successfully tested other technologies, including a new flight computer and upgraded radio, and confirmed the laser reflectometer instrument was working as expected. The spacecraft will make a flyby of Earth before heading into deep space, and NASA is weighing options for its future.

via SpaceNews|
#cubesat#lunar-flashlight#nasa
space2 years ago

NASA concludes Lunar Flashlight mission.

NASA has ended its Lunar Flashlight mission, which aimed to find sources of ice on the moon. The CubeSat failed to generate enough thrust to reach its intended destination due to debris buildup in the fuel lines. Despite the setback, NASA is taking a positive approach, highlighting the success of many of the project's components and the valuable data collected for future iterations.

via Engadget|
#cubesat#lunar-flashlight#moon
spaceflight2 years ago

NASA Abandons Lunar Flashlight Probe's Ice Mission

NASA has abandoned the mission of its Lunar Flashlight cubesat, which aimed to search for water ice in shadowy craters near the moon's south pole. The briefcase-sized spacecraft failed to generate enough thrust to reach lunar orbit due to problems with its propulsion system. However, most of the probe's systems are still functioning well, and NASA could end up assigning it a new task. The mission team also successfully tested Lunar Flashlight's four-laser reflectometer, suggesting that it could indeed have spotted water ice on the floors of moon craters.

via Space.com|
#lunar-flashlight#moon-mission#nasa
space2 years ago

Antenna Unstuck on Jupiter-bound Spacecraft.

Flight controllers in Germany have successfully freed a 52-foot radar antenna on the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, which is on a decade-long mission to explore Jupiter's moons. The antenna had been stuck due to a tiny pin that refused to budge. The spacecraft will attempt to go into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system. Meanwhile, NASA's Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, which was supposed to hunt for ice in the shadowed craters of the lunar south pole, has been abandoned after struggling unsuccessfully for months to get into orbit around the moon.

via Phys.org|
#european-space-agency#ganymede#jupiter
science-and-technology2 years ago

Antenna Unstuck on Jupiter-bound Spacecraft.

The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft's 52-foot radar antenna, which will peer deep beneath the icy crust of three Jupiter moons, has been freed after nearly a month of effort by flight controllers in Germany. Meanwhile, NASA's Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, which was supposed to hunt for ice in the shadowed craters of the lunar south pole, has been called off after struggling unsuccessfully for months to get into orbit around the moon.

via The Associated Press|
#european-space-agency#ganymede#jupiter
space2 years ago

NASA's Lunar Flashlight Mission Concludes with Technological Achievements.

NASA's Lunar Flashlight mission, launched in December 2022 to test new technologies and seek out surface ice in the Moon's South Pole, has been called off after its miniaturized propulsion system failed to generate enough thrust to get into lunar orbit. Despite this setback, the mission successfully demonstrated several new technologies, including a low-power computer and upgraded radio, and tested a never-before-flown science instrument. The lessons learned from Lunar Flashlight will be used for future missions, according to NASA.

via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory|
#lunar-flashlight#moon#nasa
space2 years ago

NASA persists in moon cubesat water search.

NASA's Lunar Flashlight mission is still trying to get its thrusters to work properly after five months in space. The team has developed a new method to get the satellite's propulsion system up and running, with the spacecraft needing more thrust within the next few days so that it can reach its revised orbit. The Lunar Flashlight is designed to shine infrared light on some of the Moon's permanently shadowed regions, scanning the lunar South Pole for reservoirs of ice water hidden away from the Sun's light.

via Gizmodo|
#lunar-flashlight#moon#nasa
space-technology2 years ago

ASCENT Takes Flight in Commercial Markets

Rubicon Space Systems, a division of Plasma Processes LLC, is working to encourage the adoption of ASCENT, a non-toxic propellant developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The company has achieved flight heritage on its 0.1N thruster and is close to completing the first low-rate production run. Rubicon has orders for one-newton and five-newton thrusters with government customers for deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2024. The company is also developing larger propulsion systems and a new 110-newton thruster.

via SpaceNews|
#ascent#lunar-flashlight#non-toxic-propellant
spaceflight2 years ago

NASA's Lunar Flashlight probe faces critical one-month deadline.

NASA's Lunar Flashlight cubesat, launched in December 2022 to seek lunar ice, is experiencing thruster glitches on its mission to test a new "green" propellant. NASA officials downgraded its mission from orbiting to lunar flybys weeks ago, but the amended mission remains uncertain. The operations team has until the end of April to generate the required thrust to preserve the opportunity to allow for monthly flybys of the lunar south pole. NASA said it will learn lessons from the experience that will help with future spacecraft design.

via Space.com|
#lunar-flashlight#moon#nasa