Get the latest tech news

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission ends in disappointment


NASA said today that its teams lost contact with the satellite shortly after its launch in February.

The NASA satellite was part of the IM-2 mission by Intuitive Machines, which took off from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on February 26 at 7:16PM ET. From the limited data ground teams received before the satellite went dark, the craft's solar arrays were not correctly positioned toward the sun, which caused its batteries to drain. "While it was not the outcome we had hoped for, mission experiences like Lunar Trailblazer help us to learn and reduce the risk for future, low-cost small satellites to do innovative science as we prepare for a sustained human presence on the Moon," said Nicky Fox, associate administrator at NASA Headquarters' Science Mission Directorate.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Endgadget

Read more on:

Photo of NASA

NASA

Photo of disappointment

disappointment

Photo of Lunar Trailblazer

Lunar Trailblazer

Related news:

News photo

NASA's Curiosity picks up new skills

News photo

Mars says hello as NASA's Europa Clipper warms up radar

News photo

NASA won't publish key climate change report online, citing 'no legal obligation' to do so