A new era Regarding the exploration of commercial moon is us, and one of the most interesting tasks is about to launch a person full of rovers, a drill and even a spacecraft will try to jump in A dark crater to search for rocks.
The IM-2 missionFrom the Texas -based visual company, it is expected to launch on one SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Wednesday, February 26 NASAWhen the United States Space Agency tries to create A new moon economy That can support human duties according to the upcoming plan.
Laura Forchot, founder of a spatial consulting company based in Georgia, Astralytical, said NASA and the space industry are creating a new business, bringing science and load to the moon surface. And these unpaid missions are preparing for us to send people.
IM-2 is funded by a NASA program called the commercial moon load, or CLP, starting in 2018 under the first Trump administration. The goal is to give money to private companies to build an amphibious ship to go to the moon, bring NASA tools and other equipment to the moon surface, before the return according to your plan. People in this decade in Artemis program. Up to 2.6 billion USD In sponsorship has been spent until 2028, with visual machinery received $ 47 million for this task.
The CLPS program has had mixed results so far. Its first mission, Peregrine amphibious ship was built by Astrobotic company based in Pennsylvania, leaked fuel and fuel. has abandoned its landing efforts In January 2024. The next Clp task was the first amphibious ship of visual machinery, IM-1 landing towards it. We were able to regain some data, but we did not want to end on this mission, he said, Mr. Trent Martin, Senior Vice President of Space Systems at Intuitive Machines.
IM-2 will participate in another CLP mission at the Moon was released, Lander Ma Blue From Texas's Firefly, it is expected to try to land in early March. Blue Ghost is targeting an area in the northern hemisphere of the moon, quiet sea, near where Mission Apollo 11 has lowered The wing in 1969. IM-2, will try to land in late March, targeting the extreme South Moon, an area of a greater scientific benefit.
The scientists think that it can be trapped at the poles of the moon, especially in The areas are permanently obscuredor PSRS. These are the holes near the poles but because the moon tilts towards the sun, never receiving their inner sunlight. The temperature on the moon surface can range from -150 to 120 degrees C, (-250 and 250 degrees F.). However, at PSRS temperature never increased above -170 degrees C.