Posted on 01/08/2024 6:32:19 AM PST by Red Badger
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed toward the moon Monday, launching private companies on a space race to make deliveries for NASA and other customers.
Astrobotic Technology’s lander caught a ride on a brand new rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan. The Vulcan streaked through the Florida predawn sky, putting the spacecraft on a roundabout route to the moon that should culminate with an attempted landing on Feb. 23.
“So, so, so excited. We are on our way to the moon!” Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton said.
The Pittsburgh company aims to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon, something only four countries have accomplished. But a Houston company also has a lander ready to fly, and could beat it to the lunar surface, taking a more direct path.
“First to launch. First to land is TBD,” to be determined, Mr. Thornton noted.
NASA gave the two companies millions to build and fly their own lunar landers. The space agency wants the privately owned landers to scope out the place before astronauts arrive while delivering NASA tech and science experiments as well as odds and ends for other customers. Astrobotic’s contract for the Peregrine lander: $108 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
I saw a DHL sticker on the lunar lander so my best guess is that it’ll be lost, land on another moon or be later by several weeks.
Watch out for Porch Pirates!
Landing on Feb 23; why the rush?
“The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years”
Our friends in the “moon landing never happened” community will be along to the us that those lunar landings never happened.
Hopefully there will be live video from the lander.
Well, in this case the ‘deliveries’ are human ashes and assorted junk items......................
Domino’s?
Is this a Uber lander or one of NASA’s?
They are taking the scenic route...................
Yep, that is about right for DHL...
No humans aboard, so a more fuel efficient route is being taken.
When it absolutely, positively, has to get there...........some time or another..............
The first Lunar landing that will be consequential will have nuclear powered tunneling robots. The surface of the Moon is very hostile, but if you have underground tunnels, the degree of hostility plummets. It is still a harsh place, but somewhat more manageable.
Optimally, the landing will be in a crater with steep walls, so that part of the crater will be in a “twilight” area, so extremes of hot and cold are mitigated. The area leading up to the wall will be swept clear of very abrasive Lunar dust, also removing its enhanced radiation away from the tunnel entrance.
The actual tunneling is very time consuming, with 1” a day being a huge success. But the end result is a permanent habitat, which means a lot more resources and fuel can be sent up instead of just endless new one use habitats.
Amazon expanding delivery to the moon? that Bezos, what a joker!
Minimum energy trajectory: As TheDon said, since there are no humans to support you can deliver more payload for the same amount of fuel. When there humans, a lot of payload is consumed in supporting them, so the best trajectory changes.
Will free returns be included?
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress................
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