SpaceX has scheduled the launch of a lunar lander this week. The spacecraft from Intuitive Machines will launch on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Wednesday.
WFIT's Rick Glasby has details:
The objective is to place the lander near a crater at the south pole of the moon where a drill and mass spectrometer will look for the presence of lunar water ice.
During the mission, a second vehicle, a standalone hopper lander, will explore difficult-to-reach areas in search of lunar ice. Scientists think that ice may be hiding in the dark recesses of lunar craters, and the hopper lander will try to find it.
In addition, there’s a rideshare payload on the Falcon 9.
A private company, AstroForge, is aiming a spacecraft toward an near-earth asteroid in deep space. The goal is to see if it’s possible to mine precious metals from an asteroid.
Plus a NASA lunar orbiter is also hitching a ride on this week’s launch. The NASA Lunar Trailblazer is designed to provide new insights into the lunar water cycle.
