Private US Moon mission launches will it open a new era for science?

The launch is the first of at least ten planned through NASA s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme, in which the agency pays private companies to deliver scientific instruments to the Moon s surface. If the programme succeeds, NASA will essentially be outsourcing future robotic lunar missions to private companies a sort of Uber Eats delivery for Moon science.

NASA is aiming for an average of two CLPS flights each year, but as many as six could happen in 2024. You ll see progressively more complex science as the commercial community demonstrates what they are capable of, says Chris Culbert, programme manager for CLPS at NASA s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Today s launch is just the first step in the difficult process of landing on the Moon. The spacecraft, which is called Peregrine and was built by the company Astrobotic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, still has to successfully enter lunar orbit and then touch down safely. The landing attempt is planned for 23 February.

via www.nature.com

This is fine with me. The combination of the Navajo bad juju and the general bad vibes from transporting human remains to the moon probably succeeded, to a high degree of probability, of jinxing the whole launch project.