Lunar Landers Launch on SpaceX Falcon 9: A New Era in Double Moonshot Missions | Science, Climate & Tech News
Two private missions destined for the moon have successfully lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The lunar landers departed in the early hours from NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center and represent the latest efforts to reach Earth’s closest celestial body.
Sharing the ride to minimize costs, America’s Firefly Aerospace and Japan’s ispace split paths an hour after launch, opting for distinct trajectories.
Elon Musk‘s SpaceX shared photos of the landers – dubbed Resilience and Blue Ghost – gliding into the abyss of space.
Less than nine minutes after launch, the formidable Falcon 9 rocket successfully returned to a droneship in the Atlantic.
SpaceX announced that Blue Ghost is expected to reach the moon’s Mare Crisium in approximately 45 days, where it will carry out experiments for NASA.
Among the tests is a device that could prevent future moonwalkers from getting abrasive particles on their suits and gear, as NASA aims to return humans to the lunar surface.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will carry out experiments for NASA. Pic: AP
NASA is investing $101 million (£82.7 million) in Firefly for this mission, alongside an additional $44 million (£36 million) for the experimental work.
Meanwhile, the Japanese lander, Resilience, is projected to take a more fuel-efficient four to five months to reach an area known as Mare Frigoris, or ‘Sea of Cold’.
This mission represents a second chance for ispace after its initial lander crashed on the moon two years prior.
The CEO of ispace, Takeshi Hakamada, wore an Irish shamrock on his jacket during the launch, hoping for good fortune.
“We don’t perceive this as a race. While some refer to it as a ‘race to the moon’, it’s not about how fast one can go,” Mr. Hakamada remarked earlier this week.
If successful, iSpace’s micro-rover will remain in close proximity to its lander, traveling at a gentle pace of less than one inch per second.
The ispace Resilience lander is taking a longer route to the moon. Pic: AP
Additionally, it plans to leave behind a symbolic garment – a miniature red house crafted by a Swedish artist.
Both landers are constructed to operate for one lunar day, which equates to 14 Earth days.
Only five nations have successfully placed spacecraft on the moon since the 1960s: the former Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, India, and China.
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The United States remains the only country to have landed humans on the moon, with the last mission occurring in 1972. NASA is aiming to recreate that achievement by the end of the decade.
Before the launch, NASA’s science missions director, Nicky Fox, remarked that extensive scientific and technological preparations are being made in advance.
Another lunar mission by Houston-based Intuitive Machines is scheduled to launch for NASA, also on a SpaceX rocket, at the end of February.
The company successfully achieved a US lander’s landing on the moon next to the south pole for the first time in over five decades last year.
SpaceX’s latest launch coincides with the postponed debut of a rocket from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos‘s company, which is now set to retry this Thursday (16 January).
