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A US spacecraft carrying human remains was launched on Monday in an attempt to land on the moon.
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The Falcon could be the first US mission in more than 50 years to make contact.
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If successful, it could also become the first private mission to land on the lunar surface.
A US spacecraft carrying human remains launched on Monday in an attempt to become the first private mission to land on the moon.
If successful, Peregrine will also be the first US mission in more than 50 years to complete a lunar touchdown and could pave the way for commercial space services, such as lunar burials.
“This is the moment we have been waiting for 16 years,” said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobiotic, the company behind the lander, after the launch. “We are on our way to the moon.”
The Vulcan Centaur rocket, developed by United Launch Alliance, blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at approximately 2 a.m. ET.
About an hour later, the Peregrine spacecraft separated from the rocket and began its journey to the lunar surface, where it is expected to land on February 23.
The commercial mission is carrying more than 20 payloads, including five scientific missions from NASA and some other unusual items such as human DNA and cremated remains.
Several capsules are on board the lander as part of a memorial service provided by private companies Celestis and Elysium Space. They both offer to bring ashes to space, and Celestis will also bring human DNA from a mouth swab.
Celestis had two payloads on launch: one aboard the United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket that sent the lander into space, and another aboard the Peregrine lander heading to the moon itself.
Among the remains and DNA found on the rocket are Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actors from the show, including Roddenberry’s wife, Majel Barrett, according to The New York Times.
Another capsule contains the hair of George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy, according to The Times.
For those whose DNA and ashes are going to the moon aboard Peregrine, one name stands out – Arthur C Clarke, a famous science fiction writer who co-wrote the script for 2001: A Space Odyssey with the American film director Stanley Kubrick, per Celestis. website.
Celestis’ moon service starts at about $13,000, according to its website.
This is not the first time that human remains have been taken into space – or even the first time that Gene Roddenberry’s cremated remains have flown above our planet. The screenwriter was part of the first human “space burial” in 1992 when his ashes were placed aboard NASA’s Columbia spacecraft.
This launch was controversial, drawing in particular from the Navajo Nation, who view the moon as sacred.
In response, NASA said that the mission is privately owned and that the agency has no comments in the other payload on board, per Space.com.
Thornton, Astrobotic’s chief executive, said Friday he was disappointed “that this conversation came up so late in the game,” according to The New York Times.
“We’re really trying to do the right thing,” Mr Thornton said. “I hope we can find a good path forward with the Navajo Nation.”
The Hawk is not only carrying human remains. NASA’s payload also includes instruments on board that will measure water molecules on the moon, as well as radiation, and gases around the lander. They will investigate the exosphere, a thin layer of gases that floats around the moon, according to a NASA press release.
The Lander is headed for the “Bay of Stickiness,” Sinus Viscositatis, a lunar feature located on the upper left side of the near side of the moon where scientists believe they may find evidence of water, according to NASA.
Starbucks have a very tough road ahead because moon landings are extremely difficult. Last year, Russia tried to reach the moon with its own landers but the mission ended in accidents.
India, however, made history last August by becoming the fourth nation to reach the moon after landing its robotic mission near the moon’s south pole.
The Astrobotic lander may be the first private spacecraft to reach the moon, but there is stiff competition. Houston-based private firm Intuitive Machines is scheduled to launch its own lander in a few weeks but could beat Astrobotic to the landing by just one day, according to Space.com.
The launch comes amid a renewed global frenzy to return to the moon. NASA is in the middle of its Artemis mission program, which aims to put astronaut boots back on the moon by the end of 2025.
In late 2022, the agency launched its lunar megarocket flying unmanned around the moon. It aims to attempt the first manned launch of the rocket in 2024.
The United States is not the only one that has set its sights on the moon, which has been tagged as a pit stop on the way to Mars, a strategic objective for those aiming to fly further into space.
China also has plans to put people on the moon by the end of the decade.
Even if the Astrobotic lander doesn’t make it, NASA had a victory with the launch. The Astrobotic Hawk One Mission is the first of the missions supported by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) to launch.
NASA’s CLPS program supports private businesses to provide lunar service to the agency, in exchange for a set fee. NASA used this approach to support the development of private industry around its return to the moon.
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