First US lunar lander since 1972 launched: The mission, significance

If successful, this mission would also involve the first landing of a private spacecraft on the Moon. Last year, a Japanese company had attempted a moon landing with its Hakuto-R mission but was unsuccessful. In 2019, the first Israeli attempt to land on the Moon was also engineered by a private company, but the spacecraft, Beresheet, had crash-landed.

The first U.S. commercial robotic launch to the Moon successfully lifted off Jan. 8 on the first flight of @ULALaunch’s #VulcanRocket. @Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission 1 lander is expected to reach the lunar surface in February: https://t.co/csvx73ZqgP pic.twitter.com/N7Mxiqi8GC

— NASA (@NASA) January 8, 2024

However, hours after the launch, the spacecraft developed technical problems that could be potentially fatal. Astrobotic Technology, the Pittsburgh-based aerospace company that built the spacecraft, said the problem was preventing it from attaining a “stable Sun-pointing orientation”. That could hamper the spacecraft’s solar power batteries from charging efficiently and could derail the entire mission. The company said it was trying to rectify the problem.

The mission

Five payloads from NASA sat inside the Peregrine lander that was launched by the Vulcan heavy rocket on Monday. The lander has been built by Astrobotic while the rocket came from United Launch Alliance, another private enterprise.

The spacecraft will take more than 40 days to reach the Moon, and is planned to make a landing on February 23. The payloads are meant to carry out various exploratory activities, including detection of water. One of the payloads, called Laser Retroreflector Array, is a collection of several mirrors that would allow precision measurements of the distance of other orbiting or landing spacecraft by reflecting light from them. This particular instrument would remain permanently deployed on the Moon’s surface, and would act as a marker for distances on the Moon.

The other payloads would remain active for ten days after landing.

Return to Moon

No US spacecraft has landed on the Moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972. That was the last of the six Apollo missions to have made the moon-landing, each allowing two astronauts to walk on the Moon’s surface. The United States reignited its interest in the Moon in the 1990s but started almost afresh, sending a few Orbiters to study the lunar surface and environment from a distance. It was only in 2018 that the US decided to make a return to the Moon, this time for longer stays.

Over the next few years, the Artemis programme plans to send a series of Moon missions, including those carrying astronauts. The first Artemis mission was sent off in November 22. It orbited the Moon and returned to the Earth. NASA is planning to send the first crewed mission into space next year, and would attempt a human landing on Moon in 2025.

The Artemis programme seeks to establish a permanent base camp on the Moon, and send astronauts and robots for longer stays for more comprehensive exploration, and scientific studies, of the lunar surface and atmosphere. It would also explore opportunities for the utilisation of resources available on the Moon with the ultimate objective of launching deep space missions from the lunar surface.

Collaboration with private sector

For the Artemis programme, NASA has sought cooperation from the private space industry as well through this Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. As of now, at least 14 private companies have been contracted to carry NASA payloads to the Moon, according to information on the NASA website. This collaboration is aimed at creating the market and technology ecosystem in the private space industry with respect to science and technology needs of lunar exploration.

Monday’s launch was the first under the CLPS initiative.

“We are so excited to see this vision become a reality. CLPS is an innovative way of leverating American companies to send important science and technology payloads to the Moon,” Nicola Fox, associate administrator of Science Mission Directorate at NASA was quoted as saying in a statement.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson called it a giant leap for humanity.

“The first CLPS launch has sent payloads on their way to the Moon – a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century. These high-risk missions will not only conduct new science on the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation. We have so much science to learn through the CLPS missions that will help us better understand the evolution of our solar system and shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis generation,” Nelson was quoted as saying.