Nasa is on its way to the moon chamber for the first time in 51 years on a private launch vehicle.
A US lander has been sent on its way to the moon for the first time in more than fifty years.
The successful launch of the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle took place at the Cape Canaveral Space Base in Florida, USA, on Monday at 9:18 a.m. Finnish time.
The lander was sent by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between private aerospace and arms companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which is now a major competitor in its project Elon Musk’s for rockets manufactured by the private company SpaceX.
So far, only the national space agencies of the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India have successfully landed on the Moon.
The United States returning to the moon after 51 years
The last lunar mission of the United States was Apollo 17 in 1972. It was also the last manned space flight to land on the Moon so far. So far, only the United States has made manned flights to the Moon with its Apollo program.
Now, with the help of the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle, Astrobotic’s unmanned lander is scheduled to arrive on the surface of the Moon at the end of February.
– Leading the United States back to the surface of the Moon for the first time since Apollo is a great honor, CEO of Astrobotic John Thornton told news agency AFP before the launch.
If the attempt is successful, it would be the first landing on the Moon by a private company. The race to the moon has continued by several countries over the past few years. The Russian lunar lander Luna-25 was destroyed in August last year after crashing into the surface of the moon.
Ashes of people associated with the Star Trek TV series also in space
The space flight will also take the ashes of people associated with the Star Trek television series, such as the creator of the series Gene Roddenberry and actor by Nichelle Nicholswho portrayed Uhura in the series.
Roddenberry’s ashes have been taken into orbit before. Also played Scotty in the series by James Doohan ashes have been taken into space before.