Space Exploration is Challenging but the Rewards are Immeasurable

NASA and SpaceX have both been hit with setbacks this month.

Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh-based company with a $108 million contract from NASA, has abandoned plans for a soft landing on the moon with its Peregrine Mission One lunar lander after the lander experienced critical propellant loss due to a fuel leak shortly after liftoff, making the scheduled moon landing on Feb. 23 impossible. This setback is a disappointment for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which aims to reduce the cost of lunar lander development and comes at a time when NASA is facing delays in returning astronauts to the moon.

At the same time, SpaceX has been forced to scrub its launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station due to weather concerns. The Falcon 9 is being launched to deploy a batch of 23 Starlink internet satellites. In addition, SpaceX lost its last Starship after it exploded in midair due to what founder Elon Musk said was the venting of extraneous liquid oxygen.

SpaceX’s massive, reusable Starship rocket conducted two test flights in 2023, the first in April and a second in November, and company representatives now say the third such mission could come as soon as Feb. 2024.

These incidents demonstrate that even in 2024, mankind’s effort to conquer space through space technology is still wrought with difficulties and challenges. They serve as poignant reminders of the formidable technical and logistical challenges involved in everything from launches to lunar landings. Despite the tremendous progress made in space exploration, rocket launches and lunar missions continue to demand meticulous planning, cutting-edge technology, and unwavering precision to ensure a safe and successful journey to the moon's surface. The legacy of the Apollo program lives on as a testament to human ingenuity and determination, inspiring future generations to tackle the ongoing complexities of lunar exploration.

Landing humans on the moon during NASA's Apollo program in the late 60s and 70s was a remarkable feat, especially considering that the computers used at the time possessed significantly less processing power than our smartphones. Despite the advancements in technology over the past five decades, successfully launching rockets as well as landing on the moon remains an extraordinarily challenging endeavor.

In recent years, several notable missions have underscored the difficulty of lunar landings. One such example is Israel's Beresheet spacecraft, which unfortunately crashed into the ancient lunar volcanic field known as the Sea of Serenity in 2019. Similarly, in the following year, Russia's Luna-25 mission and a commercial Japanese lander named Hakuto-R also met with unfortunate outcomes as they collided with the moon's unforgiving surface. It is worth noting, however, that India recently celebrated a significant achievement by becoming the fourth country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon.

Now, Astrobotic is the latest private entity to have failed in a soft landing. NASA’s overall goal is to seed a commercial lunar economy and reduce its own overhead costs. Several private companies have decided to enter the fray and all of them are competing as well as cooperating to provide the next generation of tourism and commercial vehicles that will be used in space.

When SpaceX transports Starship to the launchpad later this year for its third trial, a crucial aspect of testing will involve assessing the spacecraft's capability to transfer super-chilled rocket fuel while in space.

NASA has placed its reliance on SpaceX to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis III and IV moon missions, for which SpaceX holds a $4.2 billion contract. To achieve this mission, SpaceX must first master the complex process of refueling a Starship while it is in low-Earth orbit, subsequent to its initial launch from Earth. This challenging procedure is referred to as "cryogenic propellant transfer" and has never been attempted before in the conditions of microgravity.

During SpaceX’s media teleconference last week, this topic was discussed as well. In 2021, NASA selected Starship as its crewed lander for Artemis 3 — the vehicle that will carry two astronauts to the surface of the moon and then back up to lunar orbit once their stay is complete.

But because rockets and spacecraft burn through most of their fuel while escaping Earth's deep gravity well, a massive vehicle like Starship would need to be refueled in orbit before continuing to the moon.

The efforts by NASA and SpaceX to achieve perfection is laudable as we seek to extend our influence beyond the bonds of Earth and establish a human presence on the Moon and eventually Mars. Every failure only brings us closer to success.