While no human will walk on the surface of the moon this time around, NASA is set to land on the celestial body for the first time since 1972 in preparation for mankind’s return to it later this decade.
The Vulcan Centaur rocket, a newly developed and never-before-flown model, took flight at 2:18 a.m. EST on Monday, sending the lunar lander Peregrine on its way to the moon.
The Peregrine spacecraft began its journey to the moon just after 3 a.m. EST, and if everything goes as planned, it will touch the surface of the moon on Feb. 23.
As for what the mission will accomplish, Peregrine is bringing 20 different payloads to the moon, thanks to the company that designed it, the Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic.
Among the payloads being brought to the surface of the moon are five science instruments for NASA, some science payloads for other nations like Mexico, a robotics experiment for a private UK-based company, and more
Other payloads being brought to the moon include packages from the companies Elysium Space and Celestis, which are both commercial space burial companies.
The packages include human remains that will touch down on the lunar surface as the final resting place, though not without controversy.
Navajo Nation, the United States’ largest group of Native Americans, opposed the companies bringing the remains to the moon, saying that allowing it would be an affront to many Indigenous cultures, which regard the moon as sacred.
As for what NASA is looking to accomplish on the moon, the five experiments being delivered include bringing machines to monitor the radiation environment, which helps the space agency “better prepare to send crewed missions back to the moon,” NASA’s project scientist for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, Paul Niles, said in a news briefing last week.
Other instruments include tools to help analyze the lunar soil and look for water.
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