On the morning of January 8, a new Vulcan Centaur rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It launched the Peregrine spacecraft, developed by Astrobotic, on a trajectory to the Moon. Among other cargo on board there is also a Ukrainian flag.
Ukrainian flag flies to the Moon
The Ukrainian flag will soon be on the Moon. It is one of the many cargoes that are on board the Peregrine spacecraft. It was created by the private company Astrobotic. The launch took place from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida at 7.17 UK time on January 8. The landing is scheduled for February 23.
The spacecraft was launched using a Vulcan Centaur rocket, for which it also turned out to be the first. Engineers already confirmed that the separation was successful, and now the probe is flying to the Moon. The main mission goal is to study radiation and gases on the surface of our moon, but part of the space on board the spacecraft was sold to private companies.
And they had already disposed of it at their discretion. Mostly, the goods they carry have cultural value. One of the places went to the British-Ukrainian company Spacebit. It made sure that the Ukrainian symbols appeared on the moon.
What exactly was sent to the Moon
The fact that the image of the flag of Ukraine flying into space on board the Peregrine mission became known from one of the co-founders of the company, Pavlo Tenasyuk. He announced the event in advance and posted numerous photos of the launch on Facebook. When he was asked after the separation of Peregrine whether the flag of Ukraine was really on board, he replied that yes.
Specifically, what Spacebit launched to the moon looks like a triangular plate made of golden metal. It shows the outline of Ukraine along with all the territories that are now occupied by Russia. Inside this card is a stylized heart painted in the colors of the flag of Ukraine. A copy of the plate was presented to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The rest of the cargo that Spacebit placed in its compartment is known to include a variety of flags, emblems and badges made on metal plates. In particular, there is an image of the British flag among them.
All the plates are covered with a layer of material that should protect them well from lunar conditions. The company is confident that the experience gained during this mission will help them better prepare for their main mission — the launch of the spider robot Asagumo on our moon. If successful, it will become the smallest lunar rover in history.
According to www.prnewswire.com
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