Lunar Trailblazer: NASA's Moon Mission Hits a Snag

NASA is still trying to fix a problem with a spacecraft called Lunar Trailblazer. This spacecraft was sent to the moon last week. It was supposed to study water on the moon. But, there was a problem. The spacecraft lost contact with Earth. This happened less than 12 hours after it was launched. It was sent on a rocket called Falcon 9. The rocket also carried another spacecraft called IM-2. The IM-2 was made by a company called Intuitive Machines. The problem started on February 26. NASA tried to fix it. They said the spacecraft turned on its transmitter. But, they could not get full information from it. They also could not control it. There were some issues with the power system. The spacecraft was spinning slowly. It was in a low-power state. This made it impossible for the spacecraft to do some important tasks. These tasks were needed for it to fly by the moon. The flyby was supposed to happen on March 3. Another flyby was planned for May. These flybys would have helped the spacecraft go into orbit around the moon. The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin. It was operated by Caltech. The goal was to study the amount and form of water on the moon. The spacecraft was supposed to go into a low polar orbit. This would have helped it do its science mission. But, the problem stopped this from happening. NASA is now looking for other ways to fix the problem. They want to find a way to put the spacecraft into a useful orbit. This could help it complete some of its science goals. NASA did not say how long they would try to fix the problem. They said the team was working hard to fix it. They also said the mission was a high-risk, high-reward one. This means it could do incredible science at a lower cost. The team is trying to show the NASA innovative spirit. They want to bring the spacecraft back.This is not the first problem for NASA's SIMPLEx program. This program is for low-cost planetary science missions. Lunar Trailblazer was one of three missions selected in 2019. The other two were Janus and ESCAPADE. Janus was supposed to send twin spacecraft to fly by binary asteroids. ESCAPADE was supposed to send two spacecraft to Mars. But, ESCAPADE was bumped from its original launch. This led to a redesign. Janus also had problems. It could not reach its original targets. NASA decided to cancel the mission. The completed spacecraft is now in storage. The two ESCAPADE spacecraft were completed last year. They were supposed to launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn. But, NASA removed them from that launch. The mission is now looking at options to launch ESCAPADE in 2025 or 2026. This would allow the spacecraft to reach Mars in September 2027. NASA has had other problems with SIMPLEx missions. One mission, called Q-PACE, failed to establish communications after launch. Another mission, called LunaH-Map, had a problem with its propulsion system. This kept it from going into orbit around the moon. The problem was likely caused by the cubedat being in storage before launch far longer than planned. NASA's SIMPLEx program is all about doing science on a budget. But, these problems show that even low-cost missions can have big challenges. The Lunar Trailblazer problem is a reminder that space exploration is hard. It's not always smooth sailing. But, the team is working hard to fix the problem. They want to show that even high-risk missions can do incredible science.