NASA picks three companies to send robotic landers to the Moon to study the lunar surface
Source: The Verge
NASA picks three companies to send robotic landers to the Moon to study the lunar surface
Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Orbit Beyond are headed to the Moon
By Loren Grush May 31, 2019, 3:34pm EDT
Today, NASA announced that it has selected three commercial companies to send the first round of robotic landers to the Moon as part of the agency’s overall goal of returning humans to the lunar surface. The three US companies — Astrobotic, Orbit Beyond, and Intuitive Machines — are tasked with developing small spacecraft that can safely carry NASA payloads and instruments to the lunar surface and study the Moon in more detail. Their landers are expected to fly in 2020 and 2021.
These companies are partners with NASA through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. CLPS is the first phase of NASA’s Artemis program, the agency’s initiative to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon. But CLPS is focused on robotic vehicles and science, rather than human spaceflight. The goal is to send instruments and science experiments to the surface of the Moon using commercial landers that are developed and operated by private companies.
“These companies are prime examples of American ingenuity, vision, and know-how,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said during an announcement of today’s selection. “Because of these landers and the instruments they deliver, the science technology and research that will be done in the immediate future will prepare the way for humanity’s return to the Moon by 2024.”
Though no people will be riding on these landers, the CLPS spacecraft will aid the overall Artemis project by helping NASA learn a few more details about the lunar surface before people get there. For one, scientists and engineers alike are eager to figure out just how much water ice might by lurking on the Moon’s surface. NASA spacecraft above the Moon have detected water, but scientists still don’t know how much is there and what form it’s in. If there’s a lot, future explorers could potentially use this water for drinking or irrigation in a lunar base or the ice could be broken apart and turned into fuel for rockets.
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Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/31/18647357/nasa-clps-moon-robotic-lunar-landers-artemis-astrobotic-orbit-beyond-intuitive-machines
An artistic rendering of a robotic lander on the Moon’s surface. Image: NASA
