The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its partners continue to implement the Artemis lunar program. As part of this activity, aerospace company SpaceX recently conducted a fire test of one of its Raptor engines for the lunar module, simulating the cold temperatures of space.

In this test, SpaceX tested a Raptor engine optimized for long-duration spaceflight. NASA reported that a private company evaluated the unit’s performance “Through tests confirming that the engine can be operated in the extreme cold conditions of space for long periods of time.”.

As you may remember, the American aviation department signed a contract worth $2.89 billion with Elon Musk’s company. Within the scope of this agreement, SpaceX must develop a landing module that will deliver astronauts to the lunar surface within the scope of Artemis. Three missions are planned to be completed in 2025. Another $1.15 billion agreement between NASA and SpaceX is related to the Artemis 4 mission, which is planned to be implemented in 2028.

Unlike conventional spacecraft, the SpaceX Starship lander will stay in space for longer periods of time, causing the temperature of the equipment to drop to a lower level. Last month, SpaceX conducted a second test demonstrating the ability of its Raptor engines to operate on the lunar surface. Despite successful tests of SpaceX engines, there are fears that problems with the Raptor could hinder the implementation of NASA’s lunar program. Previously, the agency announced that the Artemis 3 mission will most likely be postponed to 2026.