NASA terminated the Lunar Flashpoint mission - "environmental" engines could not put the spacecraft into orbit of the Moon

So far, the European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully solved the problem of the JUICE interplanetary station, which will

to explore the oceans on Jupiter's moons, the U.S. space agency has shut down the projectThe reason is the malfunction of the engines.

What is known

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decided to scrap the Lunar Flashpoint mission. The aim of the program was to search for ice in craters at the South Pole of the Moon.

The compact Lunar Flashpoint satellite was launched inspace on December 11 last year using a Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft was unable to orbit the moon, from where it could explore the South Pole for the presence of ice. To do this, it was equipped with a laser.

Experts believe that the problem lies inpower plant. Lunar Flashpoint simply did not have enough engine thrust to get into orbit. Probably the reason is the contamination of the fuel lines. Space agency engineers suggest that three of the four fuel lines got shavings, due to which it was not possible to achieve the desired thrust.

Lunar Flashpoint is not successful, but notfailed mission. Despite the failure to search for ice, the spacecraft tested other instruments installed on board. For example, the IRIS radio complex for space navigation and ASCENT non-toxic fuel. The data obtained will help in the development of other missions.