Artemis I Moon Mission Update, Lunar Flashlight, CAPSTONE Success
An update on NASA‘s Artemis I Moon mission…
The right moves for a small satellite mission…
And a clever idea to look for water ice on the moon…some of the stories to tell you about – This week at NASA!
Artemis I Moon Mission Still Targeting November Launch
NASA is still focused Nov 14 for the launch of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft On Artemis I. The unmanned flight test will send Orion past the moon and back to Earth.
CAPSTONE Revealed in Lunar Sunrise: CAPSTONE will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution on the moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit planned for Artemis’ Gateway. Credit: Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter
CAPSTONE completes successful maneuver
After a successful lane correction maneuverthe CAPSTONE spacecraft is still expected to enter orbit around the moon on November 13. CAPSTONE will test the same unique, elliptical orbit around the moon that the Gateway moon outpost will use as part of NASA’s Artemis Program.
This illustration shows NASA’s Lunar Flashlight over the moon. The SmallSat mission will have a very elongated orbit, searching within 15 kilometers of the moon’s south pole for water ice in the moon’s darkest craters. Credit: NASA
Search the Moon’s Antarctic Craters for Water Ice
NASAs moon flashlight is a small satellite that will use lasers to search for water ice in the darkest craters at the moon’s south pole. Water ice could be a valuable resource for astronauts on future lunar missions. Lunar Flashlight is set to launch in November.
This visualization simulates the illumination at the south pole of the moon in the year 2023. The field of view covers the area south of 88° south latitude. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
Illumination at the South Pole of the Moon
This NASA visualization simulates the lighting at the moon’s south pole for all of 2023 and gives you an idea of what some of the craters will look like from above. Data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was used to create this visualization.
That’s what’s going on this week @NASA…
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