Lunar Trailblazer Program Loses Ground
The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft is facing an uncertain future after experiencing a series of setbacks in its mission to orbit the Moon and study lunar ice. The small orbiter appears to be spinning out of control and has failed to complete critical thruster firings, which could put it on course for disaster. NASA's efforts to reestablish contact with the spacecraft are ongoing, but the outlook is grim.
- The struggles of the Lunar Trailblazer program highlight the challenges of developing low-cost planetary exploration missions, where the stakes are high and the margins for error are thin.
- What implications will this have for the future of small-scale space exploration in the US, and how might NASA's SIMPLEx program be restructured to better achieve its objectives?