Vulcan Centaur, America's first lunar lander in more than 50 years, takes off for the Moon
US Lunar lander
Vulcan Centaur, the first American spacecraft to attempt a Moon landing in more than half a century, blasted off early Monday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This time, leading Americaback to the surface of the Moon is the nation's private industry.
A success
The brand-new rocket, by United Launch Alliance, lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 2:18 am (7:18 GMT) for its maiden voyage. Abroad the spacecraft is Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander, which is scheduled for touchdown in mid-February.
Taking to X after launch, ULA posted "Successful #VulcanRocket staging, ignition."
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As per AFP, if all goes to plan, Peregrine, which is headed for Sinus Viscositatis, a mid-latitude region of the Moon, will touch down on February 23.
"Leading America back to the surface of the Moon for the first time since Apollo is a momentous honour," said Astrobotic's CEO John Thornton before the launch.
Curious cargo
The lander Peregrine is carrying a suite of scientific instruments that will probe the Moon's radiation and surface composition. This will help pave the way for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface.
But it also has some controversial cargo: the cremated remains and DNA of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, legendary sci-fi author and scientist Arthur C. Clarke and a dog. It is also carryinga shoebox-sized rover built by Carnegie Mellon University and a physical Bitcoin.
Private companieshelm the mission
Under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme, the United States has turned to the commercial sector to ship its hardware to the moon at a fraction of the cost.
For the moon landing, it paid Astrobotic more than $100 million for the task. Another moon mission, to land near the South Pole, will be undertaken by Houston-based Intuitive Machines in February.
As per Joel Kearns, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration, "We think that it's going to allow... more cost-effective and more rapidly accomplished trips to the lunar surface to prepare for Artemis."
Artemis is the US' attempt to return humans to the Moon this decade.
A momentous feat
Controlled touchdown on the Moon, as per the report, is a challenging undertaking. Roughly half the attempts to land on the moon have resulted in failure.
To date, only a handful of nations have succeeded: The Soviet Union in 1966, the United States in 1969 — the only nation to put humans on the Moon, China — which has successfully landed thrice in the last decade and India: the latest to achieve this feat, on its second attempt.
(With inputs from agencies)
