NASA announced on July 4 that it lost contact with CAPSTONE, a small satellite that left Earth’s orbit. CAPSTONE is a cube satellite weighing just 25kg and is heading to the Moon as part of NASA’s plan to bring humans back to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.
The tiny satellite cut off communication with the engineers on July 4, shortly after it left Earth’s orbit on a rocket. A NASA spokesperson told Space.com that the team has solid orbital information for CAPSTONE and that the handlers are trying to re-establish contact with the satellite.
“The mission has enough fuel to delay the post-departure trajectory correction maneuver for several days, if needed,” the spokesperson told the site.
CAPSTONE spent six days aboard a Rocket Lab rocket and was finally deployed on its route to the Moon yesterday. The plan was for CAPSTONE to enter a linear halo orbit around the Moon on November 13 and operate as a test vehicle for NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. With the Artemis mission, NASA plans to orbit the Moon, a space station called the Lunar Gateway, which serves as a permanent floating base for visitors from the Moon, complete with living quarters and a laboratory.
NASA plans to launch the Artemis 1 mission between August 23 and September 6 with the deployment of an unmanned Orion module that will orbit the Moon and provide data on how the journey might affect the human body. After that, four astronauts will take off for the Moon satellite. Finally, sometime after 2025, NASA plans to send humans back to the Moon.
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