NASA Just Lost a Spacecraft and the Clock Is Ticking

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer has gone silent, drifting in space with minimal power.

Mission teams are working relentlessly to regain contact, using ground-based radar and NASA’s Deep Space Network. If communications can be restored, alternative maneuvers may still save the mission and allow the spacecraft to reach lunar orbit.

Efforts to Reconnect with Lunar Trailblazer

NASA’s mission operations team at Caltech’s IPAC is working to re-establish contact with the Lunar Trailblazer satellite.

Telemetry from before the signal was lost last week, along with radar data collected on March 2, suggests the spacecraft is slowly spinning in a low-power state. If its orientation changes and its solar panels receive more sunlight, power levels could increase enough to restore communication. The team is closely monitoring for any signal that indicates a change in the spacecraft’s condition.

Tracking Lunar Trailblazer’s Orientation

NASA’s Deep Space Network has been providing continuous coverage, while ground-based observatories help scientists assess Lunar Trailblazer’s orientation.

Because of these communication issues, the planned trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) have not been executed. These thruster operations were designed to fine-tune the spacecraft’s path and, along with future adjustments, guide it into its intended science orbit around the Moon. Engineers are now developing alternative strategies for executing these maneuvers if communication is restored and the spacecraft returns to normal operation. These new approaches could still allow Lunar Trailblazer to enter lunar orbit and achieve some of its science objectives.

NASA’s Determined Effort to Regain Contact

“The Lunar Trailblazer team has been working around the clock to re-establish communications with the spacecraft,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA sends up high-risk, high-reward missions like Lunar Trailblazer to do incredible science at a lower cost, and the team truly encapsulates the NASA innovative spirit — if anyone can bring Lunar Trailblazer back, it is them.”

A High-Risk, High-Reward Mission

Lunar Trailblazer was chosen as part of NASA’s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration) program, which allows low-cost science spacecraft to hitch a ride with larger primary missions. To keep costs down, SIMPLEx missions accept a higher level of risk and operate with fewer oversight and management requirements. This approach enables NASA to pursue bold, innovative mission concepts while expanding its portfolio of targeted scientific explorations.

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