Peregrine Mission: First US Lunar Probe Since Apollo Launches with Star Trek Creator’s Ashes

This Monday (8), at 4:18 Brasília time, the first lunar probe from the United States since the Apollo missions took off from Cape Canaveral, in the American state of Florida. The commercial mission aims to take NASA scientific equipment to the Moon, as well as memories and the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek franchise.

The name of the mission is Peregrine, a tribute to the peregrine falcon, the fastest animal in the world, and is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative of the Artemis program.

2 of 3 The Peregrine probe, developed and built by the company Astrobotic — Photo: NASA/Isaac Watson The Peregrine probe, developed and built by the company Astrobotic — Photo: NASA/Isaac Watson

CLPS is a new scheme in which the space agency pays private companies to take scientific equipment to the Moon. Peregrine is the initiative’s first mission, carrying five paid payloads from NASA, in addition to 15 others. One of them is a small rover from Carnegie Mellon University, in the United States, which could become the first American robot to take a spin around the satellite.

The probe also carries loads that are not scientific, such as a copy of Wikipedia, a physical currency loaded with a bitcoin and boxes with souvenirs ranging from books to photographs. The ashes and DNA of Gene Roddenberry, creator of the Star Trek franchise, are also on board.

The event, organized by the companies Astrobotic and United Launch Alliance (ULA), marks the first commercial launch towards the surface of the Moon. The Peregrine probe, developed by the company Astrobotic, left Complex 41 of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and was into space inside United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the mission is considered risky, as no private company has managed to land on the Moon or any other celestial body before. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, for example, has never flown before — the team relies on the company’s track record of 100% success with launch rockets.

“This whole task is not easy,” said Chris Culbert, CLPS program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “Landing on the Moon is extremely difficult. We recognize that success is not guaranteed.”

Water on the Moon

The expectation is that the probe will arrive at the Moon on February 23rd. In statementNASA explains that it intends to land in Sinus Viscositatis, a lunar region outside the hardened lava of Gruithuisen Domes near the side of the Moon.

The Earth has similar natural structures, which are formed from large volumes of water. The similarity makes scientists believe in the possibility that the site contains evidence of water on the Moon.

3 of 3 The image shows the Sinus Viscositatis region of the Moon, where the Peregrine probe will land. The site is believed to contain evidence of water — Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University The image shows the Sinus Viscositatis region of the Moon, where the Peregrine probe will land. The site is believed to contain evidence of water — Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

See the launch of the Peregrine probe on site da Nasa.

2024-01-08 07:30:32
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