NASA’s Lunar Lantern mission was successfully launched on December 11, 2022, to begin the small satellite SmallSat’s four-month journey to the Moon, where it will test several new technologies to search for hidden surface ice on the Moon. South pole. Although SmallSat was mostly healthy and in communication with NASA’s Deep Space Network, the mission’s operations team discovered that three of its four engines were out of order.

Noticing a reduction in propulsion for the first time three days after launch, the mission team is working to analyze the problem and offer possible solutions. During cruise, the Lunar Flashlight’s propulsion system operated in short bursts of up to a few seconds at a time. Based on ground tests, the team believes the poor performance could be due to obstructions in the fuel lines that could restrict fuel flow to the engines.

This illustration shows NASA’s Moon Beacon performing an orbit correction maneuver against the background of the Moon and Earth. Powered by the tiny satellite’s four engines, this maneuver is necessary to reach lunar orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The team plans to run the engines for much longer soon, hoping to clear potential engine fuel line obstructions during trajectory correction maneuvers that will keep SmallSat on course for its planned lunar orbit. If the propulsion system cannot be restored to full performance, the mission team develops alternative plans to perform these maneuvers using the propulsion system at its current thrust reduction capability. Lunar Flashlight will have to perform daily orbit correction maneuvers from early February to reach lunar orbit in about four months.

Flying low above the lunar surface, the briefcase-sized SmallSat will use a new laser reflectometer created with four near-infrared lasers to illuminate permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s South Pole to detect surface ice. To achieve this goal, with the limited amount of rocket fuel it is designed to carry, the Lunar Lantern will use an energy-efficient, nearly linear halo orbit, traveling within 9 miles (15 kilometers) and 43,000 miles (70,000 miles) from the Moon’s South Pole. . kilometers) from the moon. at the furthest point.

Only one other spacecraft has used this type of orbit: NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission, launched into another nearly linear halo orbit in June 2022, the same is planned for the Gateway. CAPSTONE also faced challenges during its journey to the Moon, and some of the NASA teams that helped SmallSat reach its planned orbit are lending their expertise to help troubleshoot the Lunar Flashlight engine.

Operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Lunar is the first interplanetary spacecraft to use a new “green” fuel called Advanced Spacecraft Energy Non-Toxic (ASCENT), which is safer to transport and store than conventional fuel. propellants such as hydrazine. One of the mission’s main goals is to demonstrate this technology for future use. The fuel was successfully tested during NASA’s previous demonstration mission in Earth orbit.

Other systems on the Moon Lantern are performing well, including the previously unflyed Sphinx onboard computer, developed by JPL as a low-power, radiation-proof option for small satellites. The advanced Lunar Flashlight Iris radio used to communicate with the deep space network is also working according to the project and has a new precision navigation capability that future small spacecraft will use to rendezvous and land on other solar system bodies. Additional new and revolutionary systems, such as the mission’s laser reflectometer, will be tested in the coming weeks before the mission enters lunar orbit.