A Japanese lunar probe that requested a lift to launch Artemis 1 will not land on the moon. There are hopes for a new mission for the spacecraft in March 2023.
The Artemis program began with a successful launch on November 16th. In addition to the Orion spacecraft, the gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket also carried ten smaller cubic satellites into space. One of these – Japan’s Omotenashi – would be the smallest probe to date to land on the moon.
The SLS rocket carried Orion and ten cube satellites into space on November 16, 2022. Photo: NASA / Zuma press /TT
The 14-kilogram space probe separated from the SLS rocket as planned after launch. Subsequently, however, the Japanese space agency Jaxa was unable to establish stable radio contact with the probe.
– We have determined that communication with the space probe cannot be established and that the lunar landing operation cannot be carried out, writes Jaxa on Twitter.
The probe could receive a new mission in March 2023
Indicated the first signals from the cube satellite that the probe’s solar cells were not facing the sun and that it was rotating strongly. In an attempt to counteract the spin, some fuel was released from the Omotenashi, but this did not solve the problem. Due to “insufficient voltage”, the radio transmitter was therefore switched off.
Omotenashi stands for “Outstanding Lunar Exploration Technologies Demonstrated by Semi-Hard Nano Impactor”. The plan called for the craft to perform a hard landing – a deliberate and controlled crash landing – 100 to 200 meters high on the lunar surface. Now the probe then instead navigates past the moon.
An image of the moon taken by the Orion spacecraft. The Japanese lunar probe launched with Orion missed the opportunity to land on the moon. Photo: NASA
The cube satellite will fly back towards us and circle the Earth before leaving our planet again. Around March 2023, the spacecraft will hopefully be better aligned with the sun so the solar cells can receive enough sunlight to power the radio transmitter.
– We plan to resume exploration operations at that time, and when contact with the spacecraft is established we want to conduct tests that can be done in orbit, writes Jaxa on Twitter.
It would become Japan’s first lunar probe
Omotenashi would be Japan’s first lunar probe and the smallest probe to the moon to date. The goal was to demonstrate inexpensive technology for landing and exploring the lunar surface.
The spacecraft is also equipped to take radiation measurements near and on the Moon.
