Moon mission launched successfully – despite Navajo protest over controversial cargo Israel shells Hezbollah positions in Lebanon +++ 136 hostages still in Gaza Strip

Was the start successful?

Yes. The Vulcan rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at exactly 8:18 a.m. (Swiss time). “Everything looks good,” said mission control. The engines had good hydraulic pressure and chamber pressure.

The rocket lifted off using meth engines and two rocket boosters, the latter firing as planned after just under two minutes. The Vulcan’s engines continued to accelerate the rocket and failed 16 minutes after launch.

The final major hurdle would come 34 minutes later: the separation of the Peregrine lunar landing module from the Vulcan rocket. This stage was also successfully completed fifty minutes after the start.

What’s next?

The Peregrine Falcon will reach the moon in less than a week, The landing will not take place until February 23. Until then, the Peregrine Falcon will remain in orbit around the moon.

John Thornton, the CEO of Astrobotic, the company carrying out the mission, gave the reason for this in advance:

Who carries out the mission?

“Peregrine Mission One” is a commercial flight operated by the private American space company Astrobotic Technology. The small Pittsburgh company describes itself on its website with a simple analogy:

The lunar module Peregrine (English for “Peregrine Falcon”) is launched into orbit on a “Vulcan Centaur” rocket from the manufacturer ULA (United Launch Alliance). Peregrine could become the first commercially developed spacecraft to soft land on the moon.

Why doesn’t NASA fly to the moon?

NASA is not not involved in the mission. Peregrine is the first mission operated under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The goal of the program is to reduce the cost of transporting objects to the lunar surface.

That’s why NASA pays private companies to bring scientific equipment to the moon. But NASA is not Astrobotic’s only customer: according to CNN, the Peregrine will carry 20 scientific payloads, which also come from countries such as Germany, Mexico and Great Britain. Five of these come from NASA, which paid NASA $85 million to deliver to the moon. This is small compared to its own previous missions, but the space agency is also taking a big risk.

The ‘Vulcan’ rocket had never flown until it was launched on Monday. A risk that literally went up in smoke at the successful start.

But: the biggest hurdle still lies ahead with the landing on the moon. A private company has never successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon or any other celestial body. Two moon landing attempts – one by a Japanese company and one by Russia – failed last year.

What is the Peregrine Falcon doing on the moon?

The peregrine falcon is expected to land in an area called Sinus Viscositatis (Bay of Stickiness), where it will conduct research. To do this, an ancient lava flow called Sinus Viscositatis will be attacked. Using various instruments, the moon’s radiation levels, magnetic field and gas layer will be measured to investigate and minimize the risks of future manned missions.

The goal is also to conduct an experiment with water, explains Rick Elphick, the principal investigator of NASA’s Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS). The NSS on board Peregrine can be used to measure neutrons on the lunar surface. These provide information about the presence of hydrogen – a component of water.

Although the researchers do not expect any water in the landing area on the moon, the Peregrine Falcon will spray water on the moon’s surface through its exhaust, among other things. The NSS will then be used to investigate how the water sticks to the moon and how it disappears when the sun rises and it becomes warmer.

The Peregrine will operate on the moon for a total of ten days until the area darkens and becomes too cold for further exploration.

What controversial cargo does the Peregrine carry on board?

Human remains. Elysium Space and Celestis – two commercial space funeral companies – enable the transport of human ashes to the moon. According to the Celestis website, you’ll have to shell out a hefty $13,000 for this. The slightly different funeral home carries a total of 265 capsules containing human remains. These include Star Trek inventor Gene Roddenberry and other actors from the original television series.

This plan was met with resistance from the Navajo Nation, the largest group of American Indians. Last Thursday, Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, announced in a letter to NASA and the U.S. Department of Transportation that he had requested a postponement of the launch. He explained:

NASA pointed out at a press conference that it was not responsible for the mission and that Astrobotic was responsible for the payload. John Thornton, Astrobotic’s director, expressed disappointment on Friday that the meeting was sought so late. His company announced the participation of Celestis and Elysium years ago. But he added:

Astrobotic’s freight in collaboration with its terrestrial counterpart DHL is more harmless: in ‘moonboxes’ they transport small memorabilia, such as novels, student work and a piece of Mount Everest, into space.