NASA has not managed to restore communication with the Lunar Trailblazer probe so far. With each new day, the chances of its rescue are decreasing.
The Lunar Trailblazer was created by NASA as part of the SIMPLEx program. Its goal is to use small and relatively inexpensive vehicles to study other celestial bodies. The Lunar Trailblazer has a mass of 200 kg. It is designed to detect and map water ice deposits on the Moon, as well as determine the mineralogical composition of its surface. To accomplish these tasks, the Lunar Trailblazer is equipped with two infrared spectrometers.
NASA’s spacecraft was launched on February 27 along with several other interplanetary missions. Unfortunately, all of them faced significant challenges. The Athena probe built by Intuitive Machines tipped over during a lunar landing, and Astroforge’s Odin spacecraft stopped communicating shortly after launch and was lost in deep space.
A similar fate happened to Lunar Trailblazer. After separation from the rocket, the vehicle started transmitting telemetry, after which communication with it was unexpectedly interrupted. After a while, NASA managed to re-establish contact — but shortly after, the Lunar Trailblazer fell silent again. According to engineers, this was due to problems with the power system.
NASA has made several attempts to reconnect with the vehicle, but they have been unsuccessful. Because of this, the Lunar Trailblazer was unable to make the course corrections necessary for its planned March 3 flyby of the Moon. Another flyby in May would allow the probe to enter a permanent orbit around Earth’s moon in July.
Based on telemetry and ground radar data, mission specialists believe the Lunar Trailblazer is slowly rotating in a low-power state. The team continues to listen to the airwaves in hopes that the spacecraft’s orientation will change so that its solar panels will receive more sunlight and begin to generate more power. This may allow it to reactivate the transmitter.
The team is also working to identify alternative trajectories that could allow the Lunar Trailblazer to reach its target. But this requires the spacecraft to re-establish contact with Earth. And the more time passes since the loss of communication, the less likely it is that the Lunar Trailblazer can be salvaged.
According to NASA
