NASA Can Not Contact a Moon-Orbiting Satellite
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| NASA Can Not Contact a Moon-Orbiting Satellite |
As it prepares to make its first crewed moon landing in more than 50 years, NASA lost communication with a satellite on its way to analyze the moon's orbit on Tuesday.
The satellite has enough fuel for "many days," giving NASA enough time to change its trajectory, although the space agency said it is still investigating the reason for the communications problem.
The $32.7 million satellite was built and is operated by a Colorado-based startup called Advanced Space. On Tuesday, the Deep Space Network radio antenna system initially lost contact with the spacecraft.
The microwave-sized satellite, known as the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE), was launched from New Zealand last week to study the moon's elongated orbit.
Over the course of a four-month journey, the satellite will eventually come within 1,000 miles of the moon's lunar pole.
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