This is the first ever cubesat that was able to reach the Earth's satellite.
A tiny NASA satellite completed his historic journey to the moon. The 25-kilogram CAPSTONE entered orbit around the Earth's satellite on November 13, becoming the first spacecraft to reach our planet's nearest space neighbor, Space.com reports.
The device successfully turned on its engines overnight on November 14, after which NASA confirmed the success of this phase of the mission. Thanks to this maneuver, CAPSTONE went into orbit around the moon, which will later be occupied by the Gateway lunar station, which NASA plans to build.
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The agency plans to launch the first parts station, which will become the basis of the Artemis mission in 2024. But before that, NASA needs to learn more about the features of the orbit, which is why CAPSTONE is needed. It will test orbital stability during the six-month mission.
CAPSTONE will also conduct communications and navigation tests, some in conjunction with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been in orbit around the moon since 2009.< /p>
However, the tiny satellite is not yet ready to start research. To begin, it needs to fine-tune its trajectory.
“This week, two small corrective maneuvers will be performed to ensure that the spacecraft is in a complex lunar orbit,” said Advanced Space, the company that created CAPSTONE and manages it.
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CAPSTONE was launched in July. Shortly after it separated from the launch vehicle, contact with the satellite was lost. However, after some time, NASA specialists were able to restore communication with the device and it arrived in the lunar orbit as planned.
