NASA's Artemis Gateway lunar base has taken its first step toward completion.
The space agency recently reported that its Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) spacecraft has successfully reached the moon on time after four months of travel from Earth.
NASA originally launched the spacecraft on June 28 and was in Earth's orbit for almost a week before heading to the rendezvous with the moon, per an earlier Space.com article.
NASA CAPSTONE Lunar Arrival Details
NASA mentioned in a quick update that its CAPSTONE spacecraft successfully reached the moon on the evening of Nov. 13, with it firing its thrusters to put itself in the moon's orbit at 7:39 pm EST.
According to the update, the spacecraft is now in the same near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) to be used in the construction of NASA's Gateway, the moon-orbiting space station that NASA expects would support its Artemis missions in the future.
For those unaware, the NRHO is a "precise balance point" between the Earth and the moon's gravity, which saves resources when it comes to maintaining its orbit, and it allows astronauts to access the moon's south pole, per NASA.
The spacecraft is the first of many spacecraft NASA will send to the moon as part of its Artemis missions.
In addition to having the CAPSTONE spacecraft in the moon's NRHO, the spacecraft will perform additional clean-up maneuvers to refine its orbits in the next five days.
After which, NASA's CAPSTONE team will review CAPSTONE's data to confirm that it remains on track in the NRHO, per Advanced Space's tweet about the spacecraft's status.
The spacecraft is the first of many spacecraft NASA will send to the moon as part of its Artemis missions.
In addition to having the CAPSTONE spacecraft in the moon's NRHO, the spacecraft will perform additional clean-up maneuvers to refine its orbits in the next five days.
After which, NASA's CAPSTONE team will review CAPSTONE's data to confirm that it remains on track in the NRHO, per Advanced Space's tweet about the spacecraft's status.
Advanced Space is the space agency that owns and operates the CAPSTONE spacecraft for NASA, per Space.com.
Furthermore, the spacecraft will perform some communication and navigation tests to have it go in tandem with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting the moon since 2009.
The spacecraft's success is welcome news to Advanced Space as the spacecraft had an eventful journey toward the moon.
On July 4, NASA's CAPSTONE team lost contact with it after it separated from Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft bus. However, the issue, caused by an improperly formatted command, was immediately resolved, regaining communication with the spacecraft.
The spacecraft's troubles didn't end there. It suffered a glitch due to a shaky valve in its propulsion system during a trajectory-correcting engine burn on Sept. 8, causing it to tumble and switch into a protective safe mode.
Despite the valve's shakiness, the team was able to troubleshoot and fix the problem, allowing the spacecraft to reach the moon without further issues.
What's Next For The CAPSTONE Spacecraft?
Should the CAPSTONE spacecraft maintain its position within the moon's NRHO, NASA will go ahead with its next plan for the construction of its Lunar Gateway, which the space agency will use to support a long-term and sustainable human presence on and around the moon, per Gizmodo.
The Gateway will also be used as a pit stop for astronauts and spacecraft assigned to explore Mars and other celestial bodies in deep space.
