Takeoff is scheduled for Dec 24 from Florida aboard the inaugural flight of the new rocket from the ULA industrial group, named Vulcan Centaur.
The probe will then take “a few days” to reach lunar orbit, but will have to wait until Jan 25 before attempting landing, so that light conditions at the target location are right, Thornton said.
The descent will be carried out autonomously, without human intervention, but will be monitored from the company’s control centre.
In the spring, the Japanese start-up ispace had already attempted to become the first private company to land on the Moon, but the mission ended in a crash. Israel also suffered a setback in 2019. Only four countries have successfully landed on the Moon: The United States, Russia, China and, most recently, India.
In addition to Astrobotic Technology, NASA has signed contracts with other companies, such as Firefly Aerospace, Draper and Intuitive Machines.
The latter is due to take off aboard a SpaceX rocket in January.
“NASA leadership is aware of the risks and has accepted that some of these missions might not succeed,” said Chris Culbert, the CLPS programme manager.
“But even if every landing isn’t successful, CLPS already had an impact on the commercial infrastructure needed to establish a lunar economy,” he said.
With its Artemis programme, NASA wants to establish a base on the surface of the Moon.
Source: CNA
