This photo, taken in December 2023, shows the Peregrine lander. It is prepared to be attached to the Vulcan Centaur rocket from the ULA industrial group, which brings together Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The mission has also caused controversy because it carries the ashes or DNA of dozens of people, including those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. A partnership with the Celestis company, specializing in commemorative space flights.
Sending these ashes to the Moon sparked the anger of the Navajo Native American tribe, which denounced the desecration of a sacred place.
Heard Friday during a meeting with representatives of NASA, the American air regulator, and the White House, the tribe did not however, did not obtain the postponement of the launch.
Vulcan Centaur, in development for about 10 years, represents the future of the company, underlined Mark Peller, vice -president of the ULA group.
The rocket (around 60 m high) should allow it to replace its Atlas V and Delta IV launchers, and compete with SpaceX with more affordable takeoffs.
ULA, which plans six Vulcan Centaur launches this year, subsequently wishes to recover its engines after each flight for even more profitability.
If NASA is only temporary for this mission, it nevertheless represents a major step for the agency, which seeks to encourage the development of a lunar economy. p>
She thus signed a contract with several companies, including Astrobotic, to send scientific equipment to the Moon. The program, called CLPS, provides companies with crucial financing.
Another selected company, Intuitive Machines, must also take off for the Moon in mid-February with a SpaceX rocket.
This new strategy should allow NASA to make the trip more often, faster and cheaper, explained Joel Kearns, senior official at the space agency.
These missions studying the lunar environment should make it possible to prepare for the return of astronauts to the Moon, which NASA is planning with its Artemis program.
To date, only the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India have successfully landed a device on the Moon.
A mission from the Japanese space agency (Jaxa) must also attempt to land on the moon in about two weeks. Russia, for its part, spectacularly missed a moon landing this summer.
Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116