{"id":55206,"date":"2024-02-15T08:17:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T08:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fe183a19-d847-498d-bb43-242f668ed2f0"},"modified":"2024-02-15T09:33:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T09:33:47","slug":"nasa-has-launched-a-radio-telescope-and-science-instruments-to-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/nasa-has-launched-a-radio-telescope-and-science-instruments-to-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA has launched a radio telescope and science instruments to the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watch the live launch of a mission that could be the beginning of a new era of astronomy on the Moon. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 08:17 AM<\/p>

\n\n

A new mission to put a radio telescope and science instruments on the Moon launched in the early hours of 15 February.<\/p>

US space company Intuitive Machines launched its Nova-C lunar lander on 15 February 2024, following a postponement of the initial launch the day before.<\/p>

SpaceX, who are conducting the launch, said this was due to “off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.”<\/p>

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center with the Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C moon lander mission, named Odysseus in Cape Canaveral, Florida, 15 February 2024. Photo by GREGG NEWTON\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Odysseus IM-1 mission<\/strong><\/h2>

The lander, named Odysseus as part of the IM-1 mission, was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>

The Odysseus lander is a hexagonal spacecraft just 4 metres tall about 1.5 metres wide, with 6 legs and the ability to carry 100kg of payload to the surface of the Moon.<\/p>

It is expected to land on the Moon on 23 February and is carrying NASA science and technology instruments, which include the ability to carry out radio astronomy<\/a> from the lunar surface.<\/p>

It will also focus on plume interactions on the lunar surface and how space weather interacts with Moon dust.<\/p>

\"Intuitive
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission lunar lander ready for launch. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The launch and landing is also seen as a test of lunar landing capabilities as NASA seeks to return humans and more uncrewed landers to the Moon throughout the Artemis programme<\/a>.<\/p>

The ROLSES (Radio-wave Observatory at the Lunar Surface of the Electron Sheath) instrument will be stationed on the near side of the Moon (the side of the Moon that always faces Earth).<\/p>

While it will be able to carry out radio astronomy, it is also seen as a pathfinder experiment for future missions to put telescopes and observatories on the far side of the Moon<\/a>, away from radio interference and affording an unobstructed view of the cosmos.<\/p>

Find out more about the ROLSES telescope on the Moon<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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