Artemis I’s small satellite is in an absolute emergency

Artemis I’s Orion capsule was not left alone for the MoonNovember 16, 2022. On board Space Launch System (SLS), a thrusting NASA rocket, launched toward a dozen satellites the moon With this first mission Project Artemis. One of the most interesting is undoubtedly OMOTENASHI, a Japanese CubeSat (a small cube satellite), intended to land on the lunar surface. But, small spaceship can lose.

Miniature satellite no longer responds

OMOTENASHI is was created By Jaxa, the Japanese space exploration company. On the mission’s Twitter account, the company gave Encouraging news on November 17, the day after SLS liftoff. Communication with the 12.6 kg CubeSat has been lost and its batteries are empty. as indicates that Kaynouky, a netizen who closely follows space projects in Asia, tweeted, “ Loss of orientation control is not condoned in space, even in an absolute emergency, which sometimes leads to failure. The chances of regaining contact with the device seem slim.

The problem has become observed At the time of separation of the payload from the rocket. ” Radio waves are unstable According to the team manager who oversees OMOTENASHI. The device is supposed to communicate with Earth via the Deep Space Network, NASA’s deep space telecommunications network, and specifically its station in Madrid. However, the satellite may not have succeeded in establishing a link with this station in the first place.

After successfully locking this signal, task groups have said Another problem. ” The solar cells were in the opposite direction the sun (hence, they do not produce energy) and ” The spacecraft was rotating rapidly “. A propulsion system (gas exhaust) on board OMOTENASHI was then used to stop the rotation and try to put the solar panels back in front of the star.

Jaxa abandoning its satellite is questionable

But after these maneuvers, the OMOTENASHI satellite’s transmitter went off, probably out of battery. ” Since then, the transmission radio wave has not been recovered », Mentioned Mission’s Twitter account. Failed to resume communication with miniature satellite.

However, teams are confident. They believe that no components on the satellite are damaged and can still carry out the mission. ” If the spin changes position and the solar cells are exposed to light, the ship will start again. Once activated, it automatically starts emitting radio waves, so we check it every day. » For now, Jaxa Not finished With OMOTENASHI. A new point The situation will be done on November 21. ” As long as we have a chance to land on the moon, we will continue to do our best. »