NASA's Lunar Trailblazer Lost And Likely Tumbling On Its Way To The Moon

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Published in Science and Technology on Thursday, March 6th 2025 at 14:23 GMT by IFLScience

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NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission is in jeopardy, after the US space organization lost track of the spacecraft on its way to the Moon. Part of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program,

2025-03-06 231 x 130 / 48037 Bytes

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer, a small satellite designed to study water on the Moon, has encountered a significant setback. Launched on January 13, 2024, as part of the IM-1 mission, the spacecraft has lost its ability to communicate effectively with Earth and is likely tumbling uncontrollably in space. This issue arose after the spacecraft failed to deploy its solar panels properly, which are crucial for power and maintaining orientation. Efforts to reestablish contact and stabilize the satellite are ongoing, but the mission's success is now in jeopardy. The Lunar Trailblazer was intended to map water on the lunar surface, contributing valuable data for future Artemis missions.

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[ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasas-lunar-trailblazer-lost-and-likely-tumbling-on-its-way-to-the-moon/ar-AA1AoRaV ]