ULA's Vulcan Centaur Rocket Makes Debut by Launching First US Lunar Lander Since Apollo
Update: January 8, 10:41 a.m . ET : Vulcan Centaur took off right on schedule, successfully blasting off from the Cape Canaveral launch pad and delivering Peregrine on its historic mission to the Moon.
Update: January 8, 10:41 a.m . ET : Vulcan Centaur took off right on schedule, successfully blasting off from the Cape Canaveral launch pad and delivering Peregrine on its historic mission to the Moon.
WatchChina's Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon CCShare SubtitlesOffEnglishThe lunar lander will ride on board NASA Television, the NASA app, and the space agency’s website, and you can also tune in through the feed below. The live feed is set to begin at 1:30 a.m. ET.NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TVAs part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and its Artemis program, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is packed with Laser Retro-Reflector Array (LRA), which uses laser beams to accurately measure the distance between the Moon and Earth, and the Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS), which measures radiation at the lunar surface for astronaut safety during future missions.AdvertisementThe upcoming mission is meant to help NASA in its quest to return humans to the Moon, and make it a sustainable place for long-term human presence. It also ushers in a new era whereby private companies create greater access to deep space destinations, providing means for government and commercial customers to deliver payloads to the Moon. Other payloads include a swarm of tiny robots from Mexico, a time capsule from Carnegie Mellon that includes images, poems, music pieces, as well as the cremated ashes and DNA of loved ones for two space memorial companies.AdvertisementPeregrine is scheduled for its lunar touchdown in late February, but landing on the Moon is no easy feat. So far, only NASA, Russia, and China have successfully landed on the Moon. Attempts by other nations have not ended well; Israel’s Beresheet AdvertisementThe lander is aiming for a soft landing at the Moon’s Gruithuisen Domesâ€â€a cluster of volcanic formations in the Sinus Viscositatis region (meaning “Bay of Stickinessâ€Â). For more spaceflight in your life, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and bookmark Gizmodo’s dedicated
So far, only NASA, Russia, and China have successfully landed on the Moon.
Based on reporting by gizmodo.com.
