Gerry Palmers Science 07.05.2022 22:Jul PM EDT

NASA Has Lost Contact with the CAPSTONE Cubesat Currently on Its Way to the Moon

NASA has lost contact with its miniscule spacecraft, the CAPSTONE probe, on Monday on its way to the moon.

The spacecraft's ground handlers lost contact with the CAPSTONE probe after it was deployed successfully from the Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft bus and began its long journey to the moon.

The small cube satellite ceased communications with ground engineers on July 4 not long after its successful deployment from the spacecraft bus and exiting Earth's orbit. A NASA spokesperson told Space.com that the CAPSTONE team has "solid trajectory information" for CAPSTONE, and handlers are seeking to re-establish contact with the tiny satellite.

NASA Investigating Incident, Attempts to Reestablish Contact With Cubesat

NASA said it is investigating the unfortunate incident and attempt to reestablish contact with CAPSTONE, a NASA statement quoted by Space.com said.

CAPSTONE (short for "Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment") was launched on a Rocket Lab Electron booster last June 28 and was in Earth orbit for a week, as it spiraled farther away from Earth through occasional Photon engine burns.

The mission accomplished two significant milestones on Monday: The Photon fired its engine for one last time, accelerating CAPSTONE out of Earth orbit, starting its trek toward the moon. The microwave-oven-sized cubesat then separated from the spacecraft bus and began flying on its own.

CAPSTONE Serves As Initial Step to Artemis Gateway Space Station

CAPSTONE had been expected to take a long, looping route to the moon, and end up in a near rectilinear halo orbit around the moon on Nov. 13. CAPSTONE's main goal is to test the stability of this highly elliptical orbit, which the U.S. space agency chose for its Gateway space station, an important component of NASA's Artemis program of lunar missions.

With Artemis, the U.S. space agency plans to install the Gateway space station in the Moon's orbit, serving as a permanent floating base for lunar visitors, complete with living quarters and a laboratory.

NASA plans to launch the Artemis 1 mission between August 23 and September 6 with the deployment of an unmanned Orion module, which will orbit the Moon and send back data about how the lunar journey might affect the human body. Four astronauts will then for the lunar satellite. And later in the decade, NASA plans to bring humans on the Moon again.

CAPSTONE To Conduct Navigation, Communications Tests

The tiny probe will also conduct a number of navigation and communications tests during its time in lunar orbit, with the latter trials performed in conjunction with the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been corbiting the moon since 2009.

However, the CAPSTONE handlers need to solve the communication problem to realize this vision. The CAPSTONE handlers are led by Colorado-based company Advanced Space, which oversees the mission under a $20 million contract from NASA.