NASA space agency launched the small space probe CAPSTONE on Tuesday. In four months, she must enter an orbit around the moon that has never been completed before. The goal is to see how that goes, as astronauts may travel the same route in the coming years.
CAPSTONE, which is no bigger than a microwave oven, was launched in New Zealand with a rocket from space company Rocket Lab. The explorer will study an orbit around the moon where NASA eventually wants to float a small space station. Astronauts must dock there before and after their visit to the moon.
The aim is for humans to land on the moon again by 2025 at the earliest, for the first time since the 1970s. To this end, NASA created the Artemis program, which follows the famous Apollo missions from the last century.
CAPSTONE stands for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment. The probe must complete an orbit that will bring it relatively close to the moon once every seven days; namely at about 355 kilometers. The other six days of the week he travels much more distance: the furthest point is more than 70,800 kilometers. Then he returns. Since NASA has never put a device into this orbit before, this small and unmanned probe is sent first.
CAPSTONE’s mission, once it reaches the moon, will last at least six months. Among other things, the explorer will investigate how best to stay in the correct orbit around the moon. It also measures how long it takes for transmitted radio signals from the probe to reach Earth.
The launch of this explorer can be seen as the very beginning of the Artemis program. The Artemis 1 mission must take place in August at the earliest. That is the first test flight of NASA’s mega rocket, the Space Launch System. The Orion capsule that lands on it will eventually take people to the moon and back.