PEREGRINE
MISSION ONE - SCI & TECH
News:
First US lunar lander
since 1972 launched: The mission, significance
What's
in the news?
●
A spacecraft developed by a private US
company and carrying a bunch of scientific instruments from NASA, took off from
Florida, hoping to become the first US
spacecraft to land on the Moon in more than 50 years.
Peregrine
Lander Module:
●
The Peregrine lander module of the
mission, as well as the Vulcan rocket
that launched it, have both been built
by private space companies in the US.
Payloads
in Peregrine Module:
●
The mission's significance are five payloads from NASA sitting inside
the Peregrine lander that was launched by the Vulcan heavy rocket.
●
The lander has been built by Astrobotic
while the rocket came from United Launch Alliance, another private enterprise.
○
Laser
Retroreflector Array, is a collection of several mirrors that
would allow precision measurements of the distance of other orbiting or landing
spacecraft by reflecting light from them.
Private
Sector and Artemis Programme:
●
The Mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services
(CLPS) initiative that seeks to involve the private space sector in its
ambitious Artemis programme.
Significance:
●
If successful, this mission would also
involve the first landing of a private
spacecraft on the Moon.
○
The last US lander was landed on the lunar
surface by 1972.