NASA's LunarFlashlight spacecraft, a briefcase-sized satellite on its way to the moon, is experiencing difficulties with its thrusters.
A briefcase-sized satellite on its way to the moon is experiencing difficulties with its thrusters. NASA’s Lunar Flashlight spacecraft is a small uncrewed satellite designed to search the moon’s south pole for surface ice using near-infrared lasers.
NASA announced that three of the spacecraft’s four thrusters are currently “underperforming,” leading to reduced thrust. Although the spacecraft is still in communication with Earth via the Deep Space Network and is otherwise healthy, the thruster issue could make it difficult for it to perform the required maneuvers to get into lunar orbit.
Engineers have been performing tests on the ground to examine the problem which seems to be due to obstructions in the fuel line. The obstructions are stopping enough fuel from reaching the thrusters, making them fire with less force than they should.
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