NASA, the American space agency, has successfully launched the Vulcan rocket with the commercial Peregrine lander on board. This is the first mission of its kind since the Apollo project in the 1970s. NASA plans to conduct research on the Moon to help understand planetary evolution processes, search for resources, and support future human space exploration.
The flight began on January 8, 2024, at Cape Canaveral in Florida and is expected to last 46 days. The Peregrine lander is equipped with NASA instruments such as a cosmic radiation detector, a camera for studying the chemical composition and surface temperature of lunar regolith, and a neutron counter in lunar regolith. Upon arrival on the Moon, the lander will conduct research on the lunar exosphere, thermal properties, and hydrogen content in the soil.
The Peregrine mission is also a significant milestone for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which involves NASA collaborating with American companies to deliver scientific and technological achievements to the Moon. As part of this initiative, the Peregrine lander carries Mexican mini-rovers, the Iris rover from Carnegie Mellon University, the TRN terrain navigation system from Astrobotic, and the M-42 radiation counter from the German space agency DLR.
The Peregrine mission is the first step in NASA’s plans to return to the surface of the Moon after more than half a century. Research conducted on the Silver Globe is crucial for understanding cosmic evolutionary processes and searching for water and other resources. The CLPS initiative enables the space agency to conduct scientific research in preparation for future manned missions.
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