NASA Is Still Trying to Squeeze Some Life From Doomed Lunar Orbiter

NASA is not one to let a good spacecraft go to waste. For nearly two weeks, the space agency has been trying to reestablish communications with a recently launched satellite that was originally headed toward the Moon. Lunar Trailblazer launched on February 26 on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the aim of entering lunar orbit and gathering data on the state of water on the Moon. Despite successfully deploying from the rocket, the spacecraft began experiencing trouble with its power system shortly after reaching space. The next day, communication with Trailblazer was lost. Since then, NASA has been trying to communicate with its spacecraft. Although Lunar Trailblazer will not be able to carry out its original mission, the space agency is working to find alternative options for the spacecraft. “Based on telemetry before the loss of signal last week and ground-based radar data collected March 2, the team believes the spacecraft is spinning slowly in a low-power state,” NASA wrote in ... Read full article.